Credit ratings are forward-looking opinions about an issuer’s relative creditworthiness. They provide a common and transparent global language for investors to form a view on and compare the relative likelihood of whether an issuer may repay its debts on time and in full. Credit Ratings are just one of many inputs that investors and other market participants can be considered as part of their decision-making processes.
The mission of S&P Global Ratings is to provide high-quality, objective, independent, and rigorous analytical information to the marketplace. The quality, integrity, and transparency of our ratings are at the heart of what we do.
Our credit ratings are designed to provide relative rankings of creditworthiness. They are assigned based on transparent methodologies available free of charge on our website. These methodologies are calibrated using stress scenarios (see Understanding Ratings Definitions and Ratings Definitions) and Credit Stability Criteria are designed to promote rating comparability across different sectors and over time. They are subject to a rigorous independent validation process.
S&P Global Ratings is committed to providing transparency to the market through high-quality independent opinions on creditworthiness. Safeguarding the quality, independence and integrity of our ratings, including by identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest, is embedded in our culture and at the core of everything we do.
We have been subject to regulatory oversight for over a decade. We are currently overseen by more than 20 regulators around the globe.
Credit ratings are assigned by committees composed of analysts, experts in each asset class, which consider a broad range of financial and business attributes, along with other factors, such as competitive position, business risk profile and the current economic environment, in the application of the relevant methodologies.
We continuously work to refine our ratings to uphold the highest level of excellence. To measure performance, we conduct studies that assess how much a rating has moved up or down over a given period, also known as its transition rate.
As part of ratings surveillance, we continuously analyze real-time and historical data. If we see events taking place that impact our view on an issuer’s relative creditworthiness, we adjust our ratings accordingly to communicate our views so the market has the correct perception of how we view relative creditworthiness. It is because our ratings evolve over time to reflect changes to market or issuer-specific credit drivers that they are seen to have value as one of several factors market participants may consider when assessing credit risk.
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