articles Ratings /ratings/en/research/articles/200507-corporate-and-government-ratings-that-exceed-the-sovereign-rating-7647208 content esgSubNav
In This List
COMMENTS

Corporate, Financial Institution, And Government Ratings That Exceed The Sovereign Rating

COMMENTS

Calendar Of 2025 EMEA Sovereign, Regional, And Local Government Rating Publication Dates

COMMENTS

Sustainable Finance FAQ: The Rise Of Green Equity Designations

COMMENTS

China's Local Governments: Downside Risk Is Rising For Fiscal Consolidation

COMMENTS

Instant Insights: Key Takeaways From Our Research


Corporate, Financial Institution, And Government Ratings That Exceed The Sovereign Rating

This report does not constitute a rating action.

S&P Global Ratings has 93 foreign currency ratings on corporates, financial institutions, and local or regional government (LRG) that exceed the foreign currency sovereign credit rating on the country of domicile. Table 1 lists these entities, which are domiciled in 22 different countries. This list does not include state and municipal obligors in the U.S. with ratings above the sovereign.

The list has grown since we expanded our criteria for assessing the risk of the sovereign restricting access to foreign exchange needed for debt service. For more information about the methodology for determining transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessments, please see "Criteria For Determining Transfer And Convertibility Assessments," published May 18, 2009. We publish "Sovereign Ratings History," a record of T&C assessments for all countries with sovereign credit ratings, on a monthly basis (the article was previously titled "Sovereign Rating And Country T&C Assessment Histories").

Meanwhile, we have 78 local currency financial strength ratings on insurance entities that exceed the foreign currency rating on the sovereign (in 22 different countries of domicile). These entities are listed in table 2. An S&P Global Ratings local currency financial strength rating above the sovereign credit rating indicates that there is an appreciable likelihood that the insurer would not default on its insurance policy obligations on a local currency basis in the stress scenario likely to accompany a sovereign default.

A T&C assessment is associated with the likelihood of a sovereign restricting nonsovereign access to foreign exchange needed for debt service. While history shows that many nonsovereign entities default around the time of a sovereign default, in recent years, this rarely has been the result of the inability of resident entities to convert local currency to foreign currency and to then transfer it to nonresidents to meet debt obligations. Instead, the nonsovereign defaults have more often been the result of currency depreciation, economic contraction, liquidity constraints stemming from credit shortages, restrictions on raising utility rates and other price controls, hikes in taxes and government fees amid cutbacks in services, and delayed or partial government payments. The operating and financial characteristics of the entities listed in the tables have been tested against severe downside scenarios. The higher ratings on these entities indicate that S&P Global Ratings believes there is a measurable likelihood that these entities can meet debt obligations even when the sovereign cannot.

In most cases, the nonsovereign foreign currency credit ratings do not exceed the T&C assessment. When exceptions occur, it is S&P Global Ratings' opinion that these entities are well insulated from T&C restrictions and from the other downside scenarios outlined above.

If a sovereign, through membership in a monetary or currency union, has ceded monetary and exchange rate policy responsibility to a monetary authority that the sovereign does not solely control, the T&C assessment reflects the policies of the controlling monetary authority, vis-à-vis the exchange of its currency for other currencies in the context of debt service. The same applies if a sovereign uses as its local currency the currency of another sovereign. A T&C assessment may change sharply if a sovereign introduces a new local currency, by entering or exiting a monetary or currency union or through some other means. This is because the new local currency, and in some cases the new monetary authority, may operate in very different monetary and exchange regimes. The T&C assessment does not normally reflect the likelihood of change in a country's local currency.

Table 1

Corporate and government ratings that exceed the sovereign rating as of Oct. 31, 2024
Sovereign Issuer T&C assessment LT FC rating/OL

Bahamas

BB- B+/Stable

Intercorp Peru Ltd.

BBB-/Stable

Bahrain

BB- B+/Stable

Ahli United Bank B.S.C.

BBB+/Stable

Arab Banking Corp. B.S.C.

BBB-/Stable

Brazil

BBB- BB/Stable

Ambev S.A.

BBB+/Stable

Braskem S.A.

BB+/Negative

Embraer S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Gerdau S.A.

BBB/Stable

Globo Comunicacao e Participacoes S.A.

BB+/Stable

Hypera S.A.

BB+/Stable

JBS S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Klabin S.A.

BB+/Stable

Localiza Rent a Car S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Marfrig Global Foods S.A.

BB+/Stable

Raizen S.A.

BBB/Stable

Rede D'Or Sao Luiz S.A.

BB+/Stable

Sao Martinho S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Suzano S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Tupy S.A.

BB+/Stable

Ultrapar Participacoes S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Vale S.A.

BBB-/Stable

Votorantim Cimentos S.A.

BBB/Stable

Votorantim S.A.

BBB/Stable

Colombia

BBB BB+/Negative

Enel Colombia S.A E.S.P.

BBB-/Stable

Curacao

BBB- BBB-/Stable

First Abu Dhabi Bank USA N.V.

AA-/Stable

Schlumberger Ltd.

A/Positive

France

AAA AA-/Stable

L'Oreal S.A.

AA/Stable

Sanofi

AA/Stable

Greece

AAA BBB-/Positive

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A.

BBB+/Stable

India

BBB+ BBB-/Positive

HCL Technologies Ltd.

A-/Stable

Infosys Ltd.

A/Stable

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

BBB+/Stable

Reliance Industries Ltd.

BBB+/Stable

Tata Motors Ltd.

BBB/Stable

Tata Steel Ltd.

BBB/Stable

Wipro Ltd.

A-/Stable

Indonesia

BBB+ BBB/Stable

Astra International Tbk. PT

BBB+/Stable

Italy

AAA BBB/Stable

BNP Paribas SA (Italy Branch)

A+/Stable

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA

BBB+/Stable

Bank of New York Mellon S.A./N.V. (Italian Branch)

A+/Stable

Barclays Bank Ireland PLC (Milan Branch)

A+/Stable

Deutsche Bank AG (Milan Branch)

A/Stable

Eni SpA

A-/Negative

Hera SpA

BBB+/Stable

Snam SpA

BBB+/Stable

Societa Metropolitana Acque Torino SpA

BBB+/Stable

Terna SpA

BBB+/Stable

Japan

AA+ A+/Stable

Osaka Gas Co. Ltd.

AA-/Negative

Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable

Jordan

BB+ BB-/Stable

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC

BBB-/Stable

Malta

AAA A-/Stable

Munich Re of Malta PLC

AA/Stable

Mexico

A BBB/Stable

America Movil S.A.B. de C.V.

A-/Stable

Asigna Compensacion y Liquidacion

BBB+/Stable

Coca-Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V.

A-/Stable

FIBRA Prologis

BBB+/Stable

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V.

BBB+/Stable

Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V.

BBB+/Stable

Grupo Mexico S.A.B. de C.V.

BBB+/Stable

Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

BBB+/Stable

Kimberly-Clark de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V.

A-/Stable

Minera Mexico S.A. de C.V.

BBB+/Stable

Siemens Servicios Comerciales S.A. de C.V. Sofom E.N.R.

A-/Stable

Telefonos de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V.

A-/Stable

Nigeria

B- B-/Stable

Seplat Energy PLC

B/Stable

Panama

AAA BBB/Negative

Autoridad del Canal de Panama

A-/Negative

South Africa

BB+ BB-/Stable

Gold Fields Ltd.

BBB-/Stable

Sappi Ltd.

BB/Stable

Sasol Ltd.

BB+/Stable

Telkom SA SOC Ltd.

BB/Stable

Spain

AAA A/Stable

Banco Santander S.A.

A+/Stable

Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, Sucursal en Espana (Madrid Branch)

A+/Stable

Basque Country (Autonomous Community of) (The)

AA-/Stable

Bizkaia (Historical Territory of)

AA-/Stable

Credit Suisse Bank (Europe) S.A.

A+/Stable

Navarre (Autonomous Community of)

AA-/Stable

Turkiye

BB- B+/Positive

Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayii AS

BB+/Negative

Arcelik A.S.

BB/Negative

Coca-Cola Icecek AS

BB+/Negative

Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.S.

BB/Stable

Koc Holding A.S.

BB/Positive

Mersin International Port

BB-/Positive

TAV Airports

BB-/Stable

Turk Telekom

BB-/Positive

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.

BB-/Positive

Ulker Biskuvi

BB/Stable

Ukraine

CCC+ SD/NM

Bank Alliance JSC

CCC+/Stable

Kernel Holding S.A.

CC/Negative

Kyiv (City of)

CCC+/Stable

MHP SE

CCC/Negative

Ukrainian Railways JSC

CCC+/Negative

VF Ukraine PrJSC

CCC/Negative

U.K.

AAA AA/Stable

Wellcome Trust

AAA/Stable

U.S.

AAA AA+/Stable

Johnson & Johnson

AAA/Negative

Microsoft Corp.

AAA/Stable
*These T&C assessments are for countries that are either members of monetary or currency unions or use as their local currency the currency of another sovereign. Because of this, the assessment shown is based on S&P Global Ratings' analysis of either the monetary authority of the monetary/currency union or the sovereign issuing the currency. Thus, for European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) members (such as Greece, Ireland, Italy, and/or Spain), the T&C assessments reflect our view of the likelihood of the European Central Bank restricting nonsovereign access to foreign exchange needed for debt service. As for countries that use the currency of another, the T&C assessment of Panama is equalized with that of the U.S. LT FC rating/OL--Long-term foreign currency rating and outlook.

Table 2

Insurance ratings that exceed the sovereign rating as of Oct. 31, 2024
Sovereign Issuer T&C assessment Sovereign FC rating Sovereign LC rating LC financial strength rating

Bahrain

BB- B+/Stable/B B+/Stable/B

Hannover ReTakaful B.S.C.

A+/Stable/-

Barbados

B- B-/Positive/B B-/Positive/B

RGA Americas Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

RGA Atlantic Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

RGA Reinsurance Co. (Barbados) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Bermuda

AA+ A+/Stable/A-1 A+/Stable/A-1

ACE INA Overseas Insurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

AIA International Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

AIA Reinsurance Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Allianz Risk Transfer (Bermuda) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Assured Guaranty Re Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Assured Guaranty Re Overseas Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

AXA China Region Insurance Co. (Bermuda) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

AXA XL Reinsurance Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Centre Reinsurance (U.S.) Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Chubb INA Overseas Insurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Chubb Tempest Life Reinsurance Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Chubb Tempest Reinsurance Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Corporate Officers and Directors Assurance Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Hannover Life Reassurance Co. of America (Bermuda) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Hannover Re (Bermuda) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

HSBC Life (International) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Legal & General Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Manulife (International) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Munich Re of Bermuda, Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Pacific Life Re International Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

RGA Global Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

RGA Worldwide Reinsurance Co Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

XL Bermuda Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Zurich Global, Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Brazil

BB+ BB/Stable/B BB/Stable/B

SCOR Brasil Resseguros SA

A+/Stable/-

China

A+ A+/Stable/A-1 A+/Stable/A-1

Chubb Insurance Co. Ltd. (China)

AA-/Stable/-

Lloyd's Insurance Co. (China) Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Colombia

BBB BB+/Negative/B BBB-/Negative/A-3

Cardif Colombia Seguros Generales S.A.

BBB-/Negative/-

Cyprus

AAA* BBB+/Positive/A-2 BBB+/Positive/A-2

Steamship Mutual Underwriting Assn. (Europe) Ltd.

A/Stable/-

Egypt

B B/Stable/B B/Stable/B

Orient Takaful Insurance Company S.A.E

A+/Stable/-

France

AAA* AA-/Stable/A-1+ AA-/Stable/A-1+

Allianz IARD

AA/Stable/-

Allianz Vie

AA/Stable/-

Chubb European Group SE

AA/Stable/-

Assured Guaranty (Europe) SA

AA/Stable/-

Ireland

AAA* AA/Stable/A-1+ AA/Stable/A-1+

Berkshire Hathaway European Insurance DAC

AA+/Stable/-

Italy

AAA* BBB/Stable/A-2 BBB/Stable/A-2

Allianz SpA

A/Stable/-

Genertel SpA

A+/Stable/-

REVO Insurance SpA

A-/Stable/-

Japan

AA+ A+/Stable/A-1 A+/Stable/A-1

Allianz Fire and Marine Insurance Japan Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Chubb Insurance Japan

AA-/Stable/-

MetLife Insurance KK

AA-/Stable/-

Kazakhstan

BBB BBB-/Stable/A-3 BBB-/Stable/A-3

Eurasia Insurance Co.

BBB/Stable/-

Malaysia

A+ A-/Stable/A-2 A/Stable/A-1

Hannover Retakaful Labuan Branch Family

A+/Stable/-

Hannover Retakaful Labuan Branch General

A+/Stable/-

Malta

AAA* A-/Stable/A-2 A-/Stable/A-2

Munich Re of Malta PLC

AA/Stable/-

Mexico

A BBB/Stable/A-2 BBB+/Stable/A-2

AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V.

A-/Stable/-

AXA Seguros S.A. de C.V.

A-/Stable/-

ChubbSeguros Mexico S.A.

BBB+/Stable/-

Sompo Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V.

A-/Stable/-

Tokio Marine Compania de Seguros S.A. de C.V.

A+/Stable/-

Nigeria

B- B-/Stable/B B-/Stable/B

African Reinsurance Corp.

A-/Stable/-

Poland

A+ A-/Stable/A-2 A/Stable/A-1

Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen i Reasekuracji WARTA S.A.

A+/Stable/-

South Africa

BB+ BB-/Stable/B BB/Stable/B

African Reinsurance Corp. (South Africa) Ltd.

A-/Stable/-

AIG Life South Africa Ltd.

BB/Stable/-

AIG South Africa Ltd.

BB/Stable/-

Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty South Africa Ltd.

BB+/Stable/-

General Reinsurance Africa Ltd.

AA+/Stable/-

GIC Re South Africa Ltd.

BB+/Stable/-

Hannover Re South Africa Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Hannover Reinsurance Africa Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Munich Reinsurance Co. of Africa Ltd.

AA/Stable/-

Old Mutual Life Assurance Co. (South Africa) Ltd.

BB/Stable/-

Santam Ltd.

BB/Stable/-

SCOR Africa Ltd.

A+/Stable/-

Swiss Re Africa Ltd.

AA-/Stable/-

Spain

AAA* A/Stable/A-1 A/Stable/A-1

Mapfre Re, Compania de Reaseguros, S.A.

A+/Stable/-

Thailand

A BBB+/Stable/A-2 A-/Stable/A-2

Bangkok Insurance Public Co. Ltd.

A-/Stable/-

New Hampshire Insurance Co. Thailand

A+/Positive/-

Sompo Insurance (Thailand) PLC

A/Stable/-

Tokio Marine Safety Insurance (Thailand) Public Co. Ltd.

A/Stable/-

U.K.

AAA AA/Stable/A-1+ AA/Stable/A-1+

Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance Ltd.

AA+/Stable/-

TransRe London Ltd.

AA+/Stable/-
*These T&C assessments are for countries that are either members of monetary or currency unions or use as their local currency the currency of another sovereign. Because of this, the assessment shown is based on S&P Global Ratings' analysis of either the monetary authority of the monetary/currency union or the sovereign issuing the currency. Thus, for European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) members (such as Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain), the T&C assessments reflect our view of the likelihood of the European Central Bank restricting nonsovereign access to foreign exchange needed for debt service. FC--Foreign currency. LC--Local currency.

Related Criteria

Related Research

Primary Credit Analyst:Santiago Cajal, Mexico City + 52 55 5081 4521;
santiago.cajal@spglobal.com
Secondary Contacts:Mirko Sanna, Milan + 390272111275;
mirko.sanna@spglobal.com
Alexandra Filatova, Frankfurt +49 1735633709;
alexandra.filatova@spglobal.com
Tatiana Grineva, London + 44 20 7176 7061;
tatiana.grineva@spglobal.com
Pablo F Lutereau, Madrid + 34 (914) 233204;
pablo.lutereau@spglobal.com

No content (including ratings, credit-related analyses and data, valuations, model, software, or other application or output therefrom) or any part thereof (Content) may be modified, reverse engineered, reproduced, or distributed in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or its affiliates (collectively, S&P). The Content shall not be used for any unlawful or unauthorized purposes. S&P and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees, or agents (collectively S&P Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or availability of the Content. S&P Parties are not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise), regardless of the cause, for the results obtained from the use of the Content, or for the security or maintenance of any data input by the user. The Content is provided on an “as is” basis. S&P PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, FREEDOM FROM BUGS, SOFTWARE ERRORS OR DEFECTS, THAT THE CONTENT’S FUNCTIONING WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, OR THAT THE CONTENT WILL OPERATE WITH ANY SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE CONFIGURATION. In no event shall S&P Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs or losses caused by negligence) in connection with any use of the Content even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Credit-related and other analyses, including ratings, and statements in the Content are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact. S&P’s opinions, analyses, and rating acknowledgment decisions (described below) are not recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions, and do not address the suitability of any security. S&P assumes no obligation to update the Content following publication in any form or format. The Content should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment, and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors, and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. S&P does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor except where registered as such. While S&P has obtained information from sources it believes to be reliable, S&P does not perform an audit and undertakes no duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives. Rating-related publications may be published for a variety of reasons that are not necessarily dependent on action by rating committees, including, but not limited to, the publication of a periodic update on a credit rating and related analyses.

To the extent that regulatory authorities allow a rating agency to acknowledge in one jurisdiction a rating issued in another jurisdiction for certain regulatory purposes, S&P reserves the right to assign, withdraw, or suspend such acknowledgement at any time and in its sole discretion. S&P Parties disclaim any duty whatsoever arising out of the assignment, withdrawal, or suspension of an acknowledgment as well as any liability for any damage alleged to have been suffered on account thereof.

S&P keeps certain activities of its business units separate from each other in order to preserve the independence and objectivity of their respective activities. As a result, certain business units of S&P may have information that is not available to other S&P business units. S&P has established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of certain nonpublic information received in connection with each analytical process.

S&P may receive compensation for its ratings and certain analyses, normally from issuers or underwriters of securities or from obligors. S&P reserves the right to disseminate its opinions and analyses. S&P's public ratings and analyses are made available on its Web sites, www.spglobal.com/ratings (free of charge), and www.ratingsdirect.com (subscription), and may be distributed through other means, including via S&P publications and third-party redistributors. Additional information about our ratings fees is available at www.spglobal.com/usratingsfees.

 

Create a free account to unlock the article.

Gain access to exclusive research, events and more.

Already have an account?    Sign in