As the U.S. economic expansion reached its 10th year in 2019, U.S. corporate credit showed signs of weakening, with an uptick in defaults and downgrades. The year began fresh on the heels of a Fed rate hike in December 2018 and a shuttering of the U.S. speculative-grade bond market, when no new issuance came to market for 45 days. Despite this rocky start to the year, U.S. companies remained resilient, with only a marginal increase in default rates and downgrades. U.S. GDP growth slowed as the trade dispute between the U.S. and China escalated. However, these concerns eased by year end as the U.S. and China approached a so-called Phase 1 trade deal and after the Fed cut rates several times and recommenced asset purchases.

Of the 78 U.S. corporate defaults in 2019, 61 were rated as of the beginning of the year. The number of rated U.S. corporate defaults rose from 43 in 2018, while over the same period the number of global (excluding the U.S.) rated corporate defaults also rose to 33 from 29 (see Chart 1).

Table 1

U.S. Corporate Default Summary
	Total defaults*	Investment-grade defaults	Speculative-grade defaults	Default rate (%)	Investment-grade default rate (%)	Speculative-grade default rate (%)	Total debt defaulting (Bil. $)
2001	172	6	134	4.59	0.34	10.63	100.91
2002	134	10	82	3.18	0.57	7.25	188.14
2003	89	0	65	2.32	0.00	5.60	42.68
2004	45	1	29	1.09	0.06	2.44	18.68
2005	33	1	26	0.95	0.06	2.02	42.04
2006	22	0	19	0.65	0.00	1.38	6.97
2007	18	0	15	0.50	0.00	1.02	7.02
2008	95	11	66	2.56	0.75	4.31	334.34
2009	195	5	166	6.01	0.35	11.81	516.08
2010	58	0	45	1.69	0.00	3.47	79.45
2011	39	1	30	1.12	0.07	2.16	74.30
2012	46	0	39	1.37	0.00	2.66	39.00
2013	45	0	34	1.16	0.00	2.19	64.85
2014	33	0	27	0.87	0.00	1.61	81.98
2015	66	0	52	1.58	0.00	2.86	85.90
2016	106	0	92	2.85	0.00	5.22	166.77
2017	64	0	54	1.70	0.00	3.09	70.70
2018	47	0	43	1.35	0.00	2.42	101.55
2019	78	2	59	1.85	0.14	3.11	147.88
*The "Total defaults" column includes companies that were no longer rated at the time of default. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Our study of corporate defaults in the U.S. region (which includes the tax havens Bermuda and the Cayman Islands) identified a clear correlation between low ratings and the probability of default. Even as the 2019 one-year Gini ratio (a measure of the rank-ordering power of ratings over a given time horizon) decreased to 87.3% from 94.3% in 2018, it remained higher than the average one-year Gini ratio of 80.71% for U.S. corporate ratings since 1981. High Gini scores generally reflect a high proportion of the lowest-rated issuers among the defaulters in a given period, and the majority of rated issuers in the U.S. that defaulted in 2019 were rated 'CCC+' or lower at the beginning of the year.

This study includes industrials, utilities, financial institutions (including banks, brokerages, asset managers, and other financial entities), and insurance companies from the U.S. region. We calculated default and transition rates based on the number of issuers in the sample period. For the weighted average default rates in this study, we use the number of issuers at the beginning of each year as the basis for each year's weight (see Appendix I for terms and definitions). Unless labeled otherwise, the data presented in this study refer to only public and confidential issuer credit ratings on nonfinancial and financial issuers and exclude credit estimates.

Key observations for 2019 are:

• The majority of rated defaults in the U.S. were from issuers in the lowest rating levels, with 59 of the defaulters rated speculative-grade ('BB+' and below) as of the beginning of the year.
• All 59 of these speculative-grade issuers were rated 'B+' or lower at the beginning of the year, including 43 rated 'CCC+' and lower, 11 rated 'B-', four rated 'B', and one rated 'B+'.
• Two issuers rated investment-grade as of the beginning of 2019 defaulted during the year. While both of these issuers were downgraded to speculative-grade prior to their defaults, this marked the first default over a one-year horizon for an investment-grade U.S. issuer since 2011.
• Seventeen of the defaults were from issuers that were not rated at the beginning of 2019, and three of these were first rated after Jan. 1, 2019.
• By rating category, only the 'CCC'/'C' category and the 'BBB' category displayed one-year default rates in 2019 that exceeded their long-term averages.
• The one-year default rate for 'CCC'/'C' category corporate issuers rose to 32.82% in 2019 from 29.37% in 2018 and its long-term average of 25.93%. The one-year default rate for 'BBB' category corporate issuers rose to 0.27% in 2019, slightly above its long-term average of 0.22%.
• The energy and natural resources and consumer/service sector accounted for 57.7% of defaults in 2019--the third consecutive year these sectors have both led the default tally.
• The largest default of the year was from hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc., with $23.43 billion of outstanding debt. The issuer completed a distressed debt exchange in November 2019.
• The number of U.S. corporate defaults from distressed exchanges increased to 25 in 2019 (up from 19 in 2018) but fell as a proportion of defaults to 32% (down from 40% in 2018).
• The sectors with the largest number of distressed exchanges were energy and natural resources (with seven) and consumer/service (with six).
• In addition to the distressed exchanges, 40% of the 2019 U.S. corporate defaults resulted from Chapter 11 bankruptcies, with the remainder from missed principal/interest payments.
• In 2019, 72 U.S. defaults came from the nonfinancial sector, while six were from financial services companies. The one-year default rate for nonfinancial companies rose to 2.19% in 2019 from 1.71% in 2018, while the one-year default rate for financial services rose to 0.67% from 0.14%.
• The average time to default from the initial rating for the U.S. region's 78 defaulted issuers in 2019 was 6.1 years, lower than the average of 7.1 years in 2018. By comparison, the average time to default for corporate entities globally in 2019 was 5.9 years.
• Of the U.S. issuers that defaulted in 2019, 93.59% were initially rated speculative-grade by S&P Global Ratings. These issuers took an average of 5.02 years to default after the initial rating was assigned. By comparison, the five issuers initially rated investment-grade took 22.29 years to default.
• The U.S. issuer with the longest time to default from the initial rating in 2019 was Rite Aid Corp. at 38.8 years. The ratings history of the issuer goes back to 1980 (which is the beginning of the data series used in this study), and it has been rated speculative-grade since Oct. 22, 1999.
• Murray Energy Corp. had the shortest time to default at 192 days. This default occurred in October 2019 when the issuer failed to make principal/interest payments. This was Murray's second default in 2019; the first was in March when it completed a debt exchange.
• S&P Global Ratings assigned initial ratings to 261 U.S. issuers in 2019, marking a decline from 394 issuers in 2018. For the purposes of this study, we consider issuers that re-emerge from default, including after distressed exchanges, to be new entities.
• Of the issuers assigned new ratings by S&P Global Ratings in 2019, the majority of the ratings were in the 'B' category (66.67%), while 9.20% of new issuers were assigned ratings of 'CCC+' or lower.
• In 2019, 5.75% of U.S. issuers were upgraded, while 10.99% were downgraded (not including defaults). The ratio of downgrades to upgrades rose to 1.91 to 1.00 in 2019 from 0.91 to 1.00 in 2018. The ratio of negative rating actions to upgrades, which include defaults, increased to 2.23 to 1.00 from 1.05 to 1.00 in 2018.

Although the number of issuer defaults rose 66% to 78 in 2019, the speculative-grade default rate rose moderately to 3.11% from 2.42%, and it remained below its long-term weighted average of 4.03%. The amount of debt affected by default rose by 46% to $147.9 billion.

Of the issuers that defaulted, 59 had a 'B+' or lower rating and two had a 'BBB-' rating at the beginning of the year (see Table 1). The two issuers rated investment-grade at the beginning of the year--PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.--filed for bankruptcy following the disclosure of the company's exposure to liabilities stemming from the Camp Fire near Paradise, Calif. This fire devastated the city and became one of the deadliest wildfires in the state. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. defaulted on Jan. 16, 2019, when it missed an interest payment in advance of holding company PG&E Corp. filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, 2019. Even though these ratings were lowered to 'CC' prior to their default, they are considered to be investment-grade defaults for the purposes of this study, as the issuers began the year rated in the 'BBB' category. These marked the first U.S. investment-grade defaults since 2011.

For the purposes of this study, we consider issuers that re-emerge from default--including after a distressed exchange--as new entities, and we treat the ratings on these newly emerged entities as initial ratings. We make our best effort to capture these defaults in the database, and we include them in the annual default rate calculations if the entity was rated by Jan. 1 of the year it defaulted. However, if S&P Global Ratings withdrew the rating before Jan. 1 of the year it defaulted, we do not include the issuer in the default rate calculation for that year. There were 17 issuers that defaulted in 2019 that were not rated at the beginning of the year. We assigned an initial rating to three of those after Jan. 1, 2019. The other 14 had their ratings withdrawn prior to Jan. 1, 2019 (see Table 2).

Table 2

2019 U.S. Region Publicly Rated Corporate Defaults
Company	Reason for default	Industry	Debt amount (Mil.$)	Default date	Rating one year prior to default	Rating three years prior to default	First rating	Date of first rating
Ultra Petroleum Corp.	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	2,575.00	1/2/2019	B+	-	B+	3/16/2017
API Heat Transfer Co.	Distressed exchange	Aerospace/automotive/ capital goods/metal	279.40	1/15/2019	CCC+	B-	B	4/23/2013
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.	Missed interest	Utility	17,525.00	1/16/2019	A-	BBB	BBB-	4/16/2004
Shopko Stores Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	1/16/2019	NR	NR	BBB+	2/26/1992
Ditech Holding Corp.	Missed interest	Financial institutions	1,750.00	1/18/2019	-	-	CCC+	2/15/2018
PG&E Corp.	Chapter 11	Utility	-	1/29/2019	A-	BBB	BBB+	3/10/2009
Charlotte Russe Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	90.00	2/4/2019	-	-	CCC	2/26/2018
TRM Holdings Corp.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	2/6/2019	NR	NR	B	6/11/2012
Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc.	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	1,125.00	2/7/2019	CCC-	-	CCC-	8/18/2017
Fuse Media Inc.	Missed interest	Leisure time/media	242.00	2/7/2019	CCC+	B-	B-	6/13/2014
Trident Holding Co. LLC	Chapter 11	Health care/chemicals	-	2/10/2019	-	-	CCC+	6/28/2018
Payless Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	280.00	2/19/2019	CCC	-	B-	8/22/2017
One Call Corp.	Distressed exchange	Insurance	3,279.50	2/21/2019	B-	B-	B	12/5/2013
Windstream Holdings Inc.	Chapter 11	Telecommunications	9,930.60	2/26/2019	-	-	CCC+	8/9/2018
Affinion Group Holdings Inc.	Missed interest	Leisure time/media	1,982.60	3/8/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	5/12/2017
CTI Foods Holding Co. LLC	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	510.00	3/11/2019	B-	B	B+	5/9/2005
PHI Inc.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	500.00	3/15/2019	B	BB-	BB-	4/12/2002
Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	200.00	3/15/2019	B-	-	B-	10/17/2016
Murray Energy Corp.	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	7,237.00	3/21/2019	-	-	CCC+	6/18/2018
Evergreen AcqCo1 LP d/b/a Savers	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	775.00	3/28/2019	CCC	B-	B	6/4/2013
Hexion Inc.	Chapter 11	Health care/chemicals	3,591.00	4/1/2019	CCC+	CCC+	CCC+	6/29/2009
Southcross Energy Partners L.P.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	-	4/1/2019	CCC+	CCC+	B	7/10/2014
Monitronics International Inc.	Missed interest	Consumer/service sector	1,685.00	4/2/2019	B-	B	B+	8/5/2003
Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc.	Chapter 11	High tech/computers/ office equipment	1,366.81	4/2/2019	CCC+	B-	B+	3/17/2014
Fusion Connect Inc.	Missed principal	Telecommunications	680.00	4/4/2019	B	-	B	2/20/2018
Curvature Inc.	Distressed exchange	High tech/computers/ office equipment	663.53	4/5/2019	B-	-	B	9/13/2016
MIE Holdings Corp.*	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	500.00	4/12/2019	CCC-	-	CCC-	8/29/2017
Jones Energy Inc.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	500.00	4/14/2019	NR	NR	B	3/24/2014
CROSSMARK Holdings Inc.	Missed principal/Interest	Consumer/service sector	586.25	4/15/2019	CCC	B-	B	1/15/2013
Bristow Group Inc.	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	800.00	4/16/2019	B	BB-	BB	11/21/1996
Hospital Acquisition LLC (dba LCI Holding Co. LLC)	Chapter 11	Health care/chemicals	-	5/6/2019	NR	B-	B-	5/8/2013
Preferred Proppants LLC	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	425.00	5/9/2019	CCC	B	B	8/1/2014
White Star Petroleum LLC	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	-	5/28/2019	NR	-	CCC+	7/26/2016
Sheridan Investment Partners I LLC	Missed interest	Financial institutions	1,155.00	5/31/2019	CCC+	CCC-	CCC-	2/8/2016
Sheridan Investment Partners II LP	Missed interest	Financial institutions	1,188.00	5/31/2019	CCC+	CCC-	CCC-	2/8/2016
FTD Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	6/3/2019	NR	NR	B+	1/29/2004
Legacy Reserves LP	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	850.00	6/4/2019	-	-	CCC	9/28/2018
The Neiman Marcus Group LLC	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	1,697.70	6/11/2019	CCC	B-	BBB	4/30/1998
New Academy Holding Co. LLC	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	1,825.00	6/14/2019	CCC+	B	B	4/9/2014
Denbury Resources Inc.	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	7,641.74	6/19/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	2/15/2018
Mood Media Corp.	Distressed exchange	Leisure time/media	187.90	6/28/2019	B-	-	B-	6/30/2017
PES Holdings LLC	Missed principal/Interest	Energy and natural resources	619.50	7/3/2019	-	-	B-	9/11/2018
Stearns Holdings LLC	Chapter 11	Financial institutions	250.00	7/11/2019	B	B+	B+	7/30/2013
American Energy Permian Holdings LLC	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	2,767.00	7/18/2019	NR	NR	B	10/30/2014
Blackhawk Mining LLC	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	-	7/19/2019	NR	NR	B	5/5/2015
99 cents only stores LLC	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	683.99	7/23/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	12/19/2017
Barneys New York Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	8/6/2019	NR	NR	B-	5/9/2012
Halcon Resources Corp.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	625.00	8/7/2019	B-	-	B-	9/21/2016
Sanchez Energy Corp.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	2,150.00	8/12/2019	B	B	B-	6/4/2013
Burger BossCo Intermediate Inc.	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	217.50	9/3/2019	B-	-	B-	7/10/2018
Alta Mesa Resources Inc.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	500.00	9/12/2019	-	-	B	9/17/2018
Chesapeake Energy Corp.	Distressed exchange	Energy and natural resources	9,492.51	9/13/2019	B	-	CCC+	9/29/2016
EP Energy LLC	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	5,650.00	9/17/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	1/8/2018
Premiere Global Services Inc.	Distressed exchange	High tech/computers/ office equipment	715.00	9/27/2019	B-	B	B	1/28/2016
Acosta Inc.	Missed principal	Consumer/service sector	3,041.90	10/2/2019	CCC+	B	B+	3/10/2011
Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.	Chapter 11	Leisure time/media	953.00	10/3/2019	B-	B-	B	1/13/2006
Murray Energy Corp.*	Missed principal	Energy and natural resources	5,817.00	10/4/2019	-	-	CCC+	3/26/2019
Medical Depot Holdings Inc.	Distressed exchange	Health care/chemicals	459.00	10/7/2019	B-	-	B	11/14/2016
Rite Aid Corp.	Distressed exchange	Consumer/service sector	5,400.00	10/15/2019	B	B	A	12/31/1980
CDR HRB Holdings Inc.	Missed principal	Consumer/service sector	250.00	10/17/2019	CCC	-	B	3/13/2017
DURA Automotive Systems LLC	Chapter 11	Aerospace/automotive/ capital goods/metal	-	10/17/2019	-	-	B	3/22/2019
Destination Maternity Corp.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	10/21/2019	NR	NR	B+	7/17/1995
Foresight Energy L.P.	Missed interest	Aerospace/automotive/ capital goods/metal	1,420.00	10/31/2019	B-	B-	B-	9/21/2016
One Call Corp.*	Distressed exchange	Insurance	3,279.50	10/31/2019	-	-	CCC	3/1/2019
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.	Distressed exchange	Forest and building products/ homebuilders	1,753.21	11/6/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	2/6/2018
Dean Foods Co.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	700.00	11/12/2019	BB-	BB-	BB+	3/18/1998
APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC	Distressed exchange	Aerospace/automotive/ capital goods/metal	663.00	11/13/2019	B-	-	B	4/24/2017
IPC Corp.	Distressed exchange	Telecommunications	1,479.07	11/14/2019	B-	B	B	1/7/2015
Approach Resources Inc.	Chapter 11	Energy and natural resources	-	11/18/2019	NR	-	CCC+	4/25/2017
Bumble Bee Holdings Inc.	Chapter 11	Consumer/service sector	-	11/21/2019	NR	B-	B+	12/4/2009
Community Health Systems Inc.	Distressed exchange	Health care/chemicals	23,432.32	11/25/2019	CCC+	-	CCC+	6/28/2018
AAC Holdings Inc.	Missed principal	Health care/chemicals	330.00	11/25/2019	B-	-	B-	6/6/2017
Indra Holdings Corp.	Missed principal	Consumer/service sector	245.00	12/4/2019	CCC+	B-	B	4/15/2014
Tapstone Energy LLC	Missed interest	Energy and natural resources	300.00	12/10/2019	B-	-	B-	5/3/2017
4L Technologies Inc.	Chapter 11	High tech/computers/ office equipment	760.00	12/12/2019	B-	B	B+	4/3/2014
*Cayman Islands-based issuer. This table cites three fewer defaults than Table 1 because Table 1 includes defaults that were confidentially rated. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

The most common type of default in 2019 was from companies that filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. While these Chapter 11 filings accounted for 40% of issuer defaults, they accounted for just 15% of the total amount of debt tied to a defaulted issuer (the smallest proportion of debt). The consumer services and energy and natural resources sectors accounted for most of the Chapter 11 filings in 2019, with 10 and nine, respectively.

Distressed exchanges were the second most common type of default in the year, accounting for 32% of issuer defaults and the majority (51%) of debt affected. There were 25 issuer defaults from distressed exchanges in 2019, an increase from 19 in 2018. The consumer services and the energy and natural resources sectors accounted for most of the distressed exchanges in 2019, with six and seven, respectively.

The largest default of the year was a distressed exchange by hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc., though this issuer did not default on all of its debt in its November distressed exchange. We lowered to 'D' only our rating on the company's $2.632 billion in senior unsecured notes due 2022, as they were exchanged for a mix of secured and unsecured debt due in 2027 and 2028. With the default on these 2022 notes, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Community to 'SD' (selective default).

Distressed exchanges typically involve entities in distress that restructure their obligations in a way that offers less than originally promised. A distressed exchange is an alternative to a conventional default, where the investor or counterparty would stand to fare even worse, which motivates (at least partially) investors to accept such an offer. Analytically, S&P Global Ratings treats such offers and buybacks as de facto restructurings and, accordingly, as equivalent to an issuer default. Given this treatment, we include distressed exchanges in our default rates and other relevant statistics.

The third most common type of default in 2019 was missed principal/interest payments, which were 28% of issuer defaults and accounted for 33% of the total debt amount.

The U.S. Accounts For Most Of The World's Speculative-Grade Issuers

In recent years, the proportion of U.S. corporate issuers with speculative-grade ratings has grown--to 57% at the end of 2019 from 43% in 2004. This growth of speculative grade has taken place as investors have shown willingness to accept higher credit risk for additional yield.

Newly assigned ratings have contributed to most of this growth. Since 1980, an average of 66% of new ratings annually has been speculative-grade, and this proportion has been rising. Since 2009, speculative-grade ratings have accounted for an average of 86% of new ratings annually. And in 2019, we assigned new ratings to 261 corporate issuers, 88% of which were speculative-grade.

The U.S. accounts for the majority of the world's speculative-grade issuers (see Chart 2). Globally, there were 3,605 speculative-grade issuers at the end of 2019, with 52% of these based in the U.S. Furthermore, globally the U.S. accounts for 64% of the issuers with the lowest ratings: 'B-' and below.

With more than half of the world's speculative-grade issuers and nearly two-thirds of the weakest rating categories, the U.S. typically has a higher number of rated corporate defaults annually than other regions. In 2019, 66% of global defaulters were based in the U.S, up from 57% in 2018.

The U.S. speculative-grade default rate rose to 3.11% in 2019 from 2.42% in 2018, remaining above the global speculative-grade default rate of 2.54%. Since 1992, the global speculative-grade default rate has been greater than the U.S. speculative-grade default rate in only five calendar years (see Chart 3).

Most defaults in 2019 came from issuers at the lowest rating levels, and the preponderance of defaults from the lowest rating categories supports the view that ratings serve as effective indicators of relative credit risk.

The one-year default rate for the 'CCC'/'C' rating category increased to 32.82% in 2019 from 29.37% in 2018 (see Table 3). The default rate for 'B-' rated issuers increased to 3.15% in 2019 from 1.38% in 2018. The default rate from issuers rated 'B' increased to 0.69% in 2019 from 0.36% in 2018, while the rate for 'B+' issuers rose to 0.39% from 0.0% over the same period. In 2019, there were no defaults from 'BB' category issuers.

Among issuers with investment-grade ratings, the year's two defaulters had both been rated 'BBB-'. These defaults led to a 'BBB-' default rate of 0.98% for the year, which was above the average of 0.26%. This was the first default for a U.S. issuer that was rated 'BBB-' at the beginning of a year since the default of MF Global Holdings Ltd. in 2011, and it ended the seven-year (2012-2018) streak of no U.S. investment-grade defaults.

With both the 2011 and 2019 'BBB-' defaults, the issuers defaulted following announcements of unexpected liabilities. MF Global filed for bankruptcy after it announced a large, unexpected loss under GAAP. The defaults of PG&E and its subsidiaries stemmed from their potential liability from California's deadly Camp Fire.

Table 3

One-Year U.S. Corporate Default Rates By Rating Modifier (%)
	AAA	AA+	AA	AA-	A+	A	A-	BBB+	BBB	BBB-	BB+	BB	BB-	B+	B	B-	CCC/C
1981	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.28	0.00	0.00
1982	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.34	0.00	0.00	0.71	0.00	0.00	2.86	7.14	2.22	2.33	8.33	21.43
1983	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.39	2.27	0.00	1.64	1.25	10.00	5.26	6.67
1984	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.46	0.00	0.00	1.69	1.56	2.17	3.57	8.33	25.00
1985	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.72	1.56	1.43	2.65	13.11	8.33	15.38
1986	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.78	0.00	0.79	0.00	1.85	1.23	1.18	4.79	12.16	17.50	23.08
1987	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.85	1.35	6.02	6.98	12.28
1988	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.34	2.05	4.55	10.00	20.37
1989	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.91	0.83	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.04	0.44	7.86	5.00	31.37
1990	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.77	0.00	1.11	1.45	3.06	4.50	4.95	12.38	22.58	31.82
1991	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.84	0.77	0.00	3.85	1.12	1.05	8.72	16.88	31.43	32.76
1992	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.73	15.87	21.74	31.37
1993	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.98	0.00	1.32	4.26	4.55	14.29
1994	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.90	0.00	1.88	6.94	3.33	17.39
1995	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.74	0.00	1.69	1.25	2.90	7.37	7.89	30.43
1996	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.63	2.51	3.92	4.17	8.70
1997	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.48	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.47	0.80	5.74	15.91	8.33
1998	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.36	0.00	0.00	0.71	0.46	1.67	6.72	8.20	42.86
1999	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.66	0.00	0.38	0.43	0.00	0.38	0.46	0.85	1.31	0.81	4.04	9.09	15.38	37.50
2000	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.38	0.93	0.00	0.38	0.92	0.00	1.26	2.92	6.61	10.31	14.67	42.19
2001	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.93	0.00	0.00	0.40	0.72	0.45	0.81	1.32	4.24	5.14	18.03	27.55	50.62
2002	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.20	1.03	1.75	1.75	1.17	4.06	2.30	6.96	19.28	34.62
2003	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.91	1.63	0.40	1.03	5.37	13.89	36.11
2004	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.44	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.19	0.40	0.00	3.45	3.80	20.48
2005	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.31	0.00	0.80	0.00	0.40	1.09	3.35	4.85	11.11
2006	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.86	0.00	0.41	0.52	0.74	0.93	16.22
2007	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.53	0.39	0.00	0.00	0.69	16.90
2008	0.00	0.00	1.16	1.00	0.82	0.49	1.02	0.46	0.78	0.95	2.56	0.62	0.80	3.21	3.26	8.02	31.43
2009	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.50	0.00	0.50	0.38	0.88	0.00	1.41	0.92	5.42	10.33	20.92	50.35
2010	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.03	3.30	23.08
2011	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.41	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.70	0.77	6.02	17.05
2012	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.34	1.42	1.89	30.85
2013	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.62	0.61	2.23	29.41
2014	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.87	26.25
2015	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.44	0.70	1.95	5.88	30.99
2016	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.44	1.09	2.35	10.33	42.34
2017	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.63	0.00	0.43	0.52	3.39	27.89
2018	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.36	1.38	29.37
2019	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.98	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.69	3.15	32.82
Average	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.04	0.04	0.06	0.08	0.14	0.23	0.26	0.50	0.72	1.13	1.95	5.73	9.23	25.93
Median	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.53	0.47	1.25	4.26	6.98	27.89
Standard deviation	0.00	0.00	0.19	0.19	0.20	0.16	0.25	0.31	0.38	0.47	0.91	0.85	1.55	2.06	4.97	7.85	11.90
Minimum	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maximum	0.00	0.00	1.16	1.00	0.93	0.50	1.02	1.20	1.46	1.75	3.85	3.06	7.14	8.72	18.03	31.43	50.62
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Corporate Ratings Show A Gradual Path To Default

As an issuer's credit quality weakens and moves toward default, the rating should reflect that. Looking at the path to default for all U.S. corporate issuers since 1981, the median rating for an issuer five years prior to default was 'B+'. The median U.S. corporate rating falls to 'B' 24 months prior to default, to 'B-' seven months prior to default, and to 'CCC+' two months prior to default (see Chart 4). U.S. issuers that have defaulted within the past 12 quarters have had lower median ratings along the path to default. These issuers had a median rating of 'B' five years prior to default. This median rating drops to 'B-' 29 months prior to default, falls to 'CCC+' 11 months prior to default, and then to 'CCC' three months prior to default. The number of defaulters over the trailing 12 quarters is considerably smaller (189) than the full pool of defaulters from 1981-2019 (2,128).

The majority of defaulters in this study are nonfinancial issuers. The median path to default for nonfinancial defaulters is similar to that of the total sample (see Chart 5). Nonfinancial corporate defaulters have historically had a smoother, more gradual path to default than financial defaulters, albeit with a much larger sample. The median U.S. nonfinancial corporate rating five years prior to default is 'B+', falling to 'B' 27 months prior to default, to 'B-' seven months prior to default, and to 'CCC+' two months prior to default. Issuers that defaulted within the past 12 quarters showed a lower median rating of 'B' five years before default and subsequently followed a similar path to default. The number of nonfinancial defaulters from 1981-2019 totals 1,958, while the number of defaults in the most recent 12-quarter period is 178.

By comparison, financial services defaults are less frequent, though historically some of these issuers have experienced a relatively swift transition to default. Financial services companies are typically more confidence-sensitive than nonfinancial companies, and the loss of confidence from stakeholders (such as counterparties or funding sources) can contribute to a rapid decline in liquidity and credit quality.

Since 1981, the median rating for a financial services issuer was 'BBB-' five years prior to default, which is notably higher than the 'B+' median rating for a nonfinancial corporate issuer five years prior to default. However, these comparisons are drawn from markedly different samples (1,958 nonfinancial defaults versus just 170 financial services defaulters from 1981-2019).

By comparison, financial services issuers that defaulted in the most recent 12 quarters had a much more gradual path to default that aligns more closely with that of nonfinancial defaulters. These defaulters had a median rating of 'B+' five years prior to default, and the median rating falls to 'CCC+' 11 months prior to default.

2019 Economic And Financing Conditions

U.S. financing conditions were broadly supportive during 2019, though U.S. economic growth began to slow. The U.S./China trade dispute periodically flared and threatened to escalate into a full-fledged trade war, but then progress was made toward the Phase 1 trade deal, where the U.S. agreed not to levy tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports. Trade concerns spilled-over into concerns for economic growth, and this uncertainty contributed to the inversion of the yield curve (of 10-year minus three-month Treasury rates), raising a red flag for recession risk.

The Fed responded to this growing uncertainty with three 25-basis-point (bp) rate cuts. The bond market reacted favorably, with companies issuing new debt to lock-in low funding costs and investors locking in yields. U.S. corporate bond issuance picked up by nearly 13% year-over-year to $1.25 trillion in 2019. Even though bond issuance climbed, demand for leveraged loan issuance fell as investor demand for floating-rate debt evaporated ahead of further rate cuts.

Speculative-grade companies entered 2019 facing challenging financing conditions, which eased by year end. At the end of 2018, the speculative-grade bond market closed to new issuance for 45 days, but credit markets opened back up for riskier credits in early 2019. The U.S. speculative-grade composite spread narrowed in the first fourth months of the year to 345 bps, then widened to 477 bps in September. After the Phase 1 trade deal was announced, spreads ended 2019 by tightening to 400 bps. The investment-grade composite spread exhibited relatively muted volatility as it tightened from 173 bps at the beginning of the year to 121 bps at the end of the year.

Industry Profile

In 2019, the energy and natural resources, telecommunications, and consumer/service sectors each had default rates notably higher than their long-term weighted averages (see Table 4).

The energy and natural resources sector had the highest default rate in 2019 at 6.64%, 2.9 percentage points above its long-term weighted average. This sector had 24 defaults in 2019, up from 14 in 2018 but below its peak of 62 in 2016 (when its default rate reached 18.69%). Secular changes are affecting oil field service and heavily natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies. Since the turbulent period from 2015 to 2016, E&P companies have adopted a pattern of expense reduction, reduced capital expenditures, and increased shareholder returns. Concerns that low natural gas prices are a secular trend have pressured E&P companies with large natural gas exposures even more. Increased drilling efficiency has reduced the need for equipment and services. With more efficient drilling and lower capital expenditure levels, fewer wells are being drilled. And with lower oil prices compared to prior to 2015, oil field service company margins have faced persistent pressure. As a result, access to capital has decreased, especially for lower-rated, speculative-grade issuers, among which distressed exchanges have been more common.

The telecommunications sector had the second-highest default rate in 2019 at 3.8%, 1.3 percentage points above its long-term weighted average. The sector had relatively few defaults in 2019 at three, up from two in 2018. Because the industry is so concentrated, that raised the default rate to 3.8% versus 2.53% a year earlier. Secular shifts--including the transition away from copper wire toward fiber bandwidth, declining demand for voice services, automation, and consumer preference for over-the-top (OTT) media consumption--are leaving issuers that haven't been able to adapt in a weak position.

The consumer/service sector had the third-highest default rate in 2019 at 3.6%, which is 1 percentage point above its long-term weighted average. The consumer services sector had the second-highest number of defaults in 2019 with 21, up from 15 (and a default rate of 3.04%) in 2018. The tight labor market and tariffs, have squeezed margins broadly, while growing e-commerce competition and secular shifts in consumer demand have heaped further challenges onto some brick-and mortar retailers and consumer service companies.

Table 4

Annual U.S Corporate Default Rates By Industry (%)
	Aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metal	Consumer/service sector	Energy and natural resources	Financial institutions	Forest and building products/homebuilders	Health care/chemicals	High technology/computers/office equipment
1981	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
1982	1.34	1.69	0.86	1.16	2.78	0.00	1.49
1983	0.94	1.29	2.73	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
1984	0.00	0.43	5.88	0.00	1.45	0.00	3.08
1985	1.30	1.62	5.26	0.00	0.00	2.35	0.00
1986	4.37	0.36	10.81	0.00	1.32	2.08	3.70
1987	1.88	1.38	4.85	0.00	1.14	0.88	0.00
1988	1.21	1.99	2.11	2.03	1.06	3.36	0.00
1989	2.54	1.30	0.00	2.77	0.00	0.90	1.04
1990	2.16	5.02	0.00	1.53	8.42	0.00	4.76
1991	2.45	6.79	3.61	2.71	8.54	1.89	1.47
1992	1.52	3.09	1.20	2.82	1.43	0.95	4.62
1993	1.99	1.09	2.13	0.40	0.00	0.00	1.52
1994	0.48	1.35	0.97	0.00	1.10	0.66	1.39
1995	0.00	4.17	0.89	0.62	3.06	1.20	1.27
1996	1.26	1.92	0.85	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
1997	1.17	3.01	0.00	0.29	0.00	0.54	1.18
1998	0.72	3.62	1.35	0.85	0.87	1.98	0.00
1999	2.65	3.29	7.14	0.32	1.59	3.35	1.50
2000	4.82	6.50	0.66	0.32	4.72	4.85	5.26
2001	10.50	7.53	2.60	1.92	4.35	5.39	5.26
2002	6.49	3.76	2.07	0.33	6.80	0.96	3.17
2003	5.21	4.07	1.43	0.65	1.06	3.29	2.44
2004	2.47	2.31	0.69	0.00	2.15	0.47	0.00
2005	2.62	1.64	0.00	0.36	0.95	1.26	0.00
2006	1.60	1.08	0.00	0.00	2.73	0.41	0.75
2007	1.32	0.55	0.00	0.64	2.70	0.78	0.00
2008	2.00	2.47	1.58	4.08	3.88	3.30	0.00
2009	10.28	4.84	5.26	3.01	23.23	5.20	2.01
2010	1.95	2.42	1.06	1.10	5.00	1.71	0.00
2011	0.75	2.45	0.97	0.37	3.45	0.41	0.00
2012	0.71	1.48	2.69	0.72	2.35	0.80	0.57
2013	0.70	1.10	1.58	0.35	3.49	1.56	0.00
2014	0.00	0.77	2.07	0.00	0.00	1.12	1.97
2015	0.63	2.21	8.78	0.00	1.92	0.70	0.46
2016	1.27	1.54	18.69	2.33	0.93	1.12	0.46
2017	1.62	3.31	6.83	0.91	0.88	1.17	1.30
2018	0.62	3.04	5.16	0.31	1.69	1.51	0.83
2019	0.88	3.61	6.64	1.20	0.82	1.39	1.97
Weighted average	2.29	2.66	3.75	0.92	2.77	1.61	1.29
Median	1.34	2.21	1.58	0.37	1.45	1.12	1.04
Standard deviation	2.41	1.79	3.73	1.06	4.02	1.44	1.59
Minimum	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maximum	10.50	7.53	18.69	4.08	23.23	5.39	5.26
	Insurance	Leisure time/media	Real estate	Telecommunications	Transportation	Utility
1981	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.13	0.00
1982	3.03	2.27	0.00	0.00	2.11	0.42
1983	4.88	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.03	0.00
1984	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.00	0.00
1985	1.67	2.56	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
1986	0.00	0.98	0.00	0.00	0.88	0.00
1987	0.00	0.74	0.00	1.41	0.00	0.38
1988	0.00	3.25	0.00	1.33	0.00	0.74
1989	0.75	6.76	6.90	0.00	1.74	0.00
1990	0.00	9.23	9.09	2.70	3.77	0.00
1991	1.79	7.08	6.67	0.00	6.32	1.10
1992	0.90	1.92	6.25	0.00	0.00	1.07
1993	0.39	0.85	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
1994	0.00	3.13	0.00	0.00	1.90	0.00
1995	0.33	1.91	0.00	0.00	2.88	0.00
1996	0.00	2.23	0.00	1.10	0.00	0.00
1997	0.28	0.00	0.00	2.02	0.96	0.00
1998	0.00	2.63	0.00	1.60	1.89	0.00
1999	0.89	5.22	0.00	2.78	1.92	0.29
2000	1.74	5.19	0.00	3.47	5.05	0.58
2001	0.00	5.69	0.00	14.60	5.43	0.84
2002	0.45	3.46	0.00	16.19	10.59	1.66
2003	0.47	0.88	0.00	12.36	1.30	1.45
2004	0.71	1.35	0.00	3.80	2.27	0.00
2005	0.00	0.91	0.00	0.00	4.82	0.61
2006	0.22	0.86	0.00	1.14	1.19	0.00
2007	0.00	0.82	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
2008	0.86	7.39	4.42	2.27	3.61	0.00
2009	0.90	20.17	7.14	2.56	6.76	0.34
2010	0.47	5.83	1.12	1.35	2.70	0.35
2011	0.48	1.78	0.00	0.00	8.97	0.35
2012	0.24	4.15	0.00	1.27	5.19	1.05
2013	0.00	4.86	0.00	1.32	2.60	0.35
2014	0.00	2.80	0.00	1.30	1.19	0.70
2015	0.24	2.34	0.58	0.00	0.00	0.00
2016	0.00	2.70	0.00	1.23	5.13	0.98
2017	0.24	2.32	0.00	0.00	1.39	0.32
2018	0.00	2.00	0.00	2.53	0.00	0.00
2019	0.24	1.60	0.00	3.80	0.00	0.68
Weighted average	0.40	3.59	0.61	2.52	2.42	0.38
Median	0.24	2.32	0.00	1.23	1.90	0.29
Standard deviation	0.96	3.59	2.51	3.81	2.59	0.46
Minimum	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maximum	4.88	20.17	9.09	16.19	10.59	1.66
Includes investment-grade and speculative-grade rated entities. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Cumulative default rates increased for both financial and nonfinancial entities in 2019 (see Table 5). In most periods, nonfinancial entities have higher cumulative default rates than financial entities, which reflects the high distribution of speculative-grade issuers within U.S. nonfinancial sectors.

Table 5

Cumulative U.S. Corporate Default Rates By Sector (%)
	--All financials--			--All nonfinancials--
	One-year	Three-year	10-year	One-year	Three-year	10-year
1981	0.00	N/A	N/A	0.17	N/A	N/A
1982	1.68	N/A	N/A	1.20	N/A	N/A
1983	1.39	2.56	N/A	0.73	2.16	N/A
1984	0.00	2.52	N/A	1.09	2.89	N/A
1985	0.52	2.08	N/A	1.28	2.60	N/A
1986	0.00	1.19	N/A	2.19	4.38	N/A
1987	0.00	1.04	N/A	1.22	4.21	N/A
1988	1.41	2.09	N/A	1.50	4.18	N/A
1989	2.07	3.99	N/A	1.66	4.10	N/A
1990	0.97	4.80	6.84	3.45	5.70	8.32
1991	2.35	5.70	9.24	3.92	8.91	9.88
1992	1.91	5.34	9.03	1.70	8.83	10.24
1993	0.39	4.93	8.33	0.76	6.17	10.94
1994	0.00	2.34	9.90	0.96	2.81	10.83
1995	0.48	0.98	7.67	1.56	2.63	10.40
1996	0.00	0.55	9.82	0.86	3.22	11.79
1997	0.29	0.81	10.17	0.96	3.06	12.40
1998	0.38	0.30	8.81	1.52	3.00	12.86
1999	0.66	0.87	6.55	2.81	4.33	12.48
2000	1.16	2.18	6.34	3.95	7.38	9.80
2001	0.79	2.62	4.03	5.84	11.48	7.62
2002	0.40	2.71	2.95	4.15	12.90	9.08
2003	0.55	1.98	3.27	2.95	12.72	11.32
2004	0.41	1.47	3.54	1.33	8.63	12.10
2005	0.14	0.96	3.03	1.22	5.33	12.33
2006	0.14	0.55	3.32	0.83	3.24	14.16
2007	0.26	0.43	4.61	0.59	2.68	17.25
2008	2.17	2.74	5.77	2.71	3.91	19.94
2009	1.75	3.96	6.19	7.52	9.16	21.47
2010	0.72	4.34	5.16	2.03	11.18	19.65
2011	0.44	2.83	4.68	1.35	10.42	15.25
2012	0.44	1.44	4.51	1.67	4.78	12.35
2013	0.15	1.02	4.40	1.47	3.96	10.90
2014	0.00	0.58	4.68	1.13	3.71	11.57
2015	0.13	0.44	4.79	2.01	4.09	12.98
2016	1.05	1.28	5.49	3.40	5.57	14.78
2017	0.54	1.61	5.48	2.06	6.65	16.10
2018	0.14	1.45	3.50	1.71	6.48	15.37
2019	0.67	1.21	1.87	2.19	5.07	10.12
Average	0.68	2.10	5.80	2.04	5.74	12.81
Median	0.44	1.61	5.32	1.56	4.38	12.22
Standard deviation	0.68	1.50	2.36	1.48	3.07	3.41
Minimum	0.00	0.30	1.87	0.17	2.16	7.62
Maximum	2.35	5.70	10.17	7.52	12.90	21.47
"All financials" refers to financial institutions and insurance combined. N/A--Not applicable. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

In 2019, three sectors had positive net rating actions, where more issuers were upgraded during the year than were downgraded. These sectors were financial institutions, insurance, and real estate. The sectors with the most negative net rating actions were consumer/service, energy and natural resources, and aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metals.

The U.S.-China trade war is broadly affecting automotive and several industrial sectors, with many issuers contending with weak end-market demand stemming from the trade war, facing depressed margins due to the tariffs, or both.

Table 6

Rating Action Comparison
	--2019--			--2018--			--Net number of positive rating actions--
Industry	Upgrades	Downgrades	Defaults	Upgrades	Downgrades	Defaults	2019	2018	Difference
Aerospace/automotive/capital goods/metal	17	51	3	34	25	2	(37)	7	(44)
Consumer/service sector	26	78	15	33	60	12	(67)	(39)	(28)
Energy and natural resources	12	43	19	44	14	13	(50)	17	(67)
Financial institutions	18	11	4	25	24	1	3	0	3
Forest and building products/homebuilders	1	9	1	11	3	2	(9)	6	(15)
Health care/chemicals	13	39	4	24	20	4	(30)	0	(30)
High technology/computers/office equipment	17	18	5	18	23	2	(6)	(7)	1
Insurance	18	11	1	29	26		6	3	3
Leisure time/media	17	38	4	15	30	5	(25)	(20)	(5)
Real estate	12	10		13	5		2	8	(6)
Telecommunications	4	17	3	5	14	2	(16)	(11)	(5)
Transportation	3	8		10	7		(5)	3	(8)
Utility	32	30	2	38	21		0	17	(17)

Overall, more issuers were downgraded in 2019 than were upgraded. This increase in downgrades (and decrease in upgrades) reversed a trend from 2016 to 2018, when the ratio of downgrades to upgrades decreased (see Table 6). While downgrades typically outnumber upgrades, the ratio measure of 1.91 downgrades for each upgrade in 2019 was greater than the long-term weighted average of 1.54 which could be an indication of deteriorating credit fundamentals.

In 2019, a higher share of issuers were downgraded than in 2018, and a smaller share was upgraded. To measure upgrades and downgrades in this study, we compared the rating on an issuer as of Jan. 1 with that as of Dec. 31 of the same year. Using this approach, issuers downgraded or upgraded multiple times during the year are considered to have only one rating change.

Table 7

Summary Of U.S. Net Annual Corporate Rating Changes (%)
	Issuers as of Jan. 1	Upgrades	Downgrades*	Defaults	Withdrawn ratings	Changed ratings	Unchanged ratings	Downgrade/upgrade ratio
1981	1,319	9.93	13.42	0.15	2.12	25.63	74.37	1.35
1982	1,364	5.79	12.61	1.25	5.50	25.15	74.85	2.18
1983	1,374	7.35	12.01	0.80	5.31	25.47	74.53	1.63
1984	1,448	11.33	10.08	0.97	2.90	25.28	74.72	0.89
1985	1,522	8.02	14.19	1.18	4.07	27.46	72.54	1.77
1986	1,748	7.32	15.79	1.83	7.04	31.98	68.02	2.16
1987	1,887	7.37	12.29	1.01	9.43	30.10	69.90	1.67
1988	1,951	8.87	12.25	1.49	8.30	30.91	69.09	1.38
1989	1,957	9.91	11.34	1.74	8.12	31.12	68.88	1.14
1990	1,919	6.62	16.00	2.92	7.09	32.62	67.38	2.42
1991	1,804	6.54	13.30	3.55	4.05	27.44	72.56	2.03
1992	1,822	10.65	10.04	1.76	4.28	26.73	73.27	0.94
1993	1,952	9.63	8.45	0.67	8.86	27.61	72.39	0.88
1994	2,105	7.84	8.46	0.71	4.99	22.00	78.00	1.08
1995	2,290	9.43	8.78	1.27	5.33	24.80	75.20	0.93
1996	2,396	10.23	7.60	0.63	7.85	26.29	73.71	0.74
1997	2,563	10.22	7.37	0.78	8.23	26.61	73.39	0.72
1998	2,880	8.72	9.06	1.22	8.02	27.01	72.99	1.04
1999	3,114	6.58	10.79	2.28	8.64	28.29	71.71	1.64
2000	3,132	6.00	13.31	3.26	7.22	29.79	70.21	2.22
2001	3,051	5.54	16.95	4.59	7.15	34.22	65.78	3.06
2002	2,892	5.08	19.99	3.18	7.02	35.27	64.73	3.93
2003	2,796	5.90	15.70	2.32	7.15	31.08	68.92	2.66
2004	2,764	7.31	9.88	1.09	7.78	26.05	73.95	1.35
2005	2,832	9.71	11.44	0.95	7.73	29.84	70.16	1.18
2006	2,903	10.95	10.47	0.65	8.06	30.14	69.86	0.96
2007	2,988	10.41	11.95	0.50	9.44	32.30	67.70	1.15
2008	3,002	7.26	18.69	2.56	7.66	36.18	63.82	2.57
2009	2,844	5.45	19.20	6.01	7.07	37.73	62.27	3.52
2010	2,660	13.31	9.44	1.69	5.79	30.23	69.77	0.71
2011	2,761	12.46	10.58	1.12	7.32	31.47	68.53	0.85
2012	2,846	9.07	8.78	1.37	6.25	25.47	74.53	0.97
2013	2,934	12.37	7.67	1.16	7.02	28.22	71.78	0.62
2014	3,091	10.06	7.09	0.87	6.57	24.59	75.41	0.70
2015	3,287	7.30	10.40	1.58	8.12	27.41	72.59	1.43
2016	3,232	8.08	11.66	2.85	8.23	30.82	69.18	1.44
2017	3,173	8.54	8.67	1.70	8.48	27.39	72.61	1.01
2018	3,188	9.38	8.53	1.35	7.97	27.23	72.77	0.91
2019	3,304	5.75	10.99	1.85	7.35	25.94	74.06	1.91
Weighted average		8.49	11.61	1.79	7.17	29.05	70.95	1.54
Median		8.54	10.99	1.35	7.22	27.61	72.39	1.35
Standard deviation		2.12	3.35	1.19	1.72	3.48	3.48	0.81
Minimum		5.08	7.09	0.15	2.12	22.00	62.27	0.62
Maximum		13.31	19.99	6.01	9.44	37.73	78.00	3.93
*Excludes downgrades to 'D', which are shown separately in the default column. This table compares the net change in ratings from the first to the last day of each year. All intermediate ratings are disregarded. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Transition Tables And Cumulative Default Rates

One-year rating transitions in the U.S. were generally consistent with rating transitions globally in 2019. U.S. investment-grade ratings tend to have more stability (measured by transition rate) than speculative-grade ratings. This is illustrated by the diagonal within the Table 7. For example, 90.76% of U.S. issuers rated 'BBB' on Jan. 1 were still rated 'BBB' on Dec. 31, whereas 83.91% of 'BB' rated issuers maintained a 'BB' rating over the same period. Moving diagonally from 'BBB' across the table, the transition rate should generally fall, as the likelihood that ratings move down or up increases down the rating scale. In any given year, this might not hold true, but this relationship is clear when multiple samples are averaged together (Table 8). An interesting observation when viewing the averaged tables is that the lowest transition rate (one minus the diagonal rate) is observed not in the 'AAA' rating category but the 'A' rating category, and this becomes more pronounced as the time horizon lengthens.

Table 8

2019 One-Year Corporate Transition Rates: U.S. Versus Global (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
U.S.
AAA	100.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
AA	0.00	92.31	2.80	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.90
A	0.00	0.00	95.64	2.28	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.09
BBB	0.00	0.00	3.26	90.76	1.77	0.00	0.00	0.27	3.94
BB	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.73	83.91	6.57	0.52	0.00	7.27
B	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.19	79.11	5.39	1.35	11.96
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.76	8.40	48.85	32.82	9.16
Global
AAA	100.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
AA	0.00	93.25	2.15	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.60
A	0.00	0.71	93.71	1.93	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.64
BBB	0.00	0.00	2.67	91.44	1.23	0.05	0.00	0.11	4.49
BB	0.00	0.00	0.07	2.61	83.02	4.99	0.30	0.00	9.01
B	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.21	78.57	5.09	1.49	12.64
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.49	8.37	45.81	30.05	15.27
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

The long-term (1981-2019) trend of ratings behavior shows that higher-rated issuers are generally more stable than lower-rated issuers. Of the U.S. issuers rated 'AAA', 87.37% retained the rating after one year, whereas only 75.65% of issuers rated 'B' maintained the rating after one year, on average. The stability of higher-rated issuers in the U.S. is largely consistent with observations of global corporate ratings performance (see Tables 8-10).

Table 9

Average One-Year Corporate Transition Rates, 1981-2019 (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
U.S.
AAA	87.37	8.63	0.58	0.04	0.17	0.04	0.04	0.00	3.14
	(10.13)	(10.28)	(1.16)	(0.21)	(0.40)	(0.27)	(0.27)	(0.00)	(2.48)
AA	0.51	87.24	7.39	0.57	0.08	0.10	0.03	0.03	4.06
	(0.52)	(6.17)	(4.53)	(0.83)	(0.23)	(0.28)	(0.11)	(0.16)	(2.39)
A	0.04	1.69	88.23	5.26	0.36	0.14	0.03	0.07	4.18
	(0.12)	(1.20)	(4.21)	(2.53)	(0.49)	(0.31)	(0.11)	(0.16)	(1.86)
BBB	0.01	0.11	3.48	86.48	3.62	0.56	0.10	0.21	5.43
	(0.05)	(0.18)	(1.85)	(4.68)	(1.79)	(0.84)	(0.16)	(0.31)	(1.89)
BB	0.02	0.04	0.17	4.74	77.59	7.45	0.56	0.73	8.70
	(0.08)	(0.11)	(0.30)	(2.35)	(5.35)	(3.81)	(0.70)	(0.85)	(2.42)
B	0.00	0.03	0.10	0.18	4.42	75.65	4.64	3.52	11.45
	(0.00)	(0.10)	(0.23)	(0.25)	(2.05)	(4.47)	(2.34)	(3.29)	(2.29)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.23	0.66	11.72	44.06	29.14	14.02
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.53)	(0.78)	(1.12)	(7.59)	(8.36)	(10.96)	(5.17)
Global
AAA	87.03	9.08	0.53	0.05	0.11	0.03	0.05	0.00	3.12
	(7.17)	(7.22)	(0.83)	(0.25)	(0.28)	(0.17)	(0.34)	(0.00)	(2.42)
AA	0.49	87.21	7.74	0.48	0.05	0.06	0.02	0.02	3.92
	(0.53)	(5.22)	(4.17)	(0.68)	(0.19)	(0.20)	(0.07)	(0.08)	(1.82)
A	0.03	1.66	88.42	5.04	0.27	0.11	0.02	0.05	4.40
	(0.09)	(1.03)	(3.71)	(2.18)	(0.38)	(0.24)	(0.06)	(0.11)	(1.69)
BBB	0.01	0.09	3.37	86.32	3.51	0.44	0.10	0.16	6.00
	(0.04)	(0.15)	(1.55)	(3.91)	(1.60)	(0.66)	(0.21)	(0.25)	(1.55)
BB	0.01	0.03	0.11	4.73	77.80	6.57	0.54	0.61	9.60
	(0.05)	(0.08)	(0.24)	(1.87)	(4.48)	(2.98)	(0.72)	(0.83)	(2.19)
B	0.00	0.02	0.07	0.16	4.76	74.78	4.47	3.33	12.41
	(0.00)	(0.08)	(0.20)	(0.21)	(2.07)	(4.05)	(2.00)	(3.13)	(2.20)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.19	0.58	12.96	43.64	27.08	15.45
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.41)	(0.63)	(0.90)	(7.51)	(8.42)	(10.50)	(5.09)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 10

Average Three-Year Corporate Transition Rates, 1981-2019, (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
U.S.
AAA	66.50	20.55	2.44	0.37	0.33	0.12	0.12	0.17	9.39
	(15.36)	(16.98)	(2.18)	(1.01)	(0.69)	(0.44)	(0.43)	(0.56)	(4.95)
AA	1.11	67.12	17.12	2.19	0.41	0.33	0.03	0.17	11.51
	(0.78)	(10.68)	(6.77)	(1.78)	(0.57)	(0.65)	(0.13)	(0.38)	(4.68)
A	0.08	3.99	69.83	11.43	1.44	0.53	0.11	0.34	12.24
	(0.12)	(2.49)	(7.46)	(3.20)	(1.18)	(0.74)	(0.19)	(0.39)	(3.66)
BBB	0.03	0.34	8.32	66.59	6.80	1.93	0.27	0.93	14.78
	(0.08)	(0.43)	(3.48)	(9.08)	(2.68)	(1.55)	(0.38)	(0.82)	(4.17)
BB	0.01	0.08	0.63	10.64	47.57	12.84	1.29	4.27	22.66
	(0.07)	(0.17)	(0.83)	(4.06)	(8.39)	(3.76)	(0.89)	(3.52)	(4.19)
B	0.00	0.03	0.25	0.74	9.33	42.69	4.98	12.79	29.17
	(0.06)	(0.12)	(0.47)	(0.85)	(3.05)	(6.02)	(2.06)	(7.37)	(5.04)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.17	0.74	1.61	14.50	10.59	45.33	27.05
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.61)	(1.39)	(2.01)	(7.19)	(6.94)	(12.34)	(8.29)
Global
AAA	65.41	22.23	2.33	0.32	0.27	0.08	0.11	0.13	9.12
	(11.48)	(12.27)	(1.74)	(0.76)	(0.53)	(0.29)	(0.41)	(0.37)	(5.24)
AA	1.16	66.83	18.21	1.98	0.34	0.21	0.03	0.12	11.13
	(0.84)	(9.57)	(6.21)	(1.41)	(0.50)	(0.44)	(0.07)	(0.18)	(4.03)
A	0.05	3.88	69.88	11.37	1.18	0.41	0.09	0.23	12.91
	(0.09)	(2.12)	(6.86)	(2.90)	(1.01)	(0.59)	(0.13)	(0.28)	(3.45)
BBB	0.02	0.26	8.20	65.71	6.89	1.51	0.27	0.80	16.34
	(0.06)	(0.39)	(2.88)	(7.12)	(2.01)	(1.29)	(0.36)	(0.93)	(3.22)
BB	0.01	0.05	0.46	10.90	48.14	11.19	1.20	3.61	24.43
	(0.05)	(0.13)	(0.68)	(3.18)	(7.33)	(2.72)	(0.89)	(3.46)	(3.71)
B	0.00	0.02	0.18	0.70	9.78	41.97	4.76	11.94	30.63
	(0.05)	(0.11)	(0.41)	(0.76)	(3.22)	(5.34)	(1.58)	(7.15)	(4.78)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.12	0.56	1.57	17.42	9.98	41.08	29.27
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.48)	(1.16)	(1.60)	(6.60)	(5.85)	(11.64)	(8.31)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 11

Average 10-Year Corporate Transition Rates, 1981-2019 (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
U.S.
AAA	26.20	33.71	8.40	2.32	0.21	0.30	0.08	0.84	27.93
	(12.47)	(19.17)	(3.80)	(3.22)	(0.44)	(0.73)	(0.35)	(0.88)	(6.91)
AA	1.40	27.41	29.02	6.84	1.11	0.53	0.04	1.09	32.55
	(0.93)	(5.56)	(3.60)	(2.38)	(0.88)	(0.52)	(0.12)	(1.01)	(4.52)
A	0.14	4.96	37.49	17.53	2.97	1.12	0.19	1.95	33.65
	(0.19)	(1.91)	(7.00)	(2.39)	(1.00)	(0.76)	(0.25)	(0.85)	(4.37)
BBB	0.02	0.73	10.86	35.63	6.99	2.66	0.20	4.75	38.15
	(0.10)	(0.64)	(4.01)	(8.33)	(1.33)	(1.31)	(0.20)	(1.99)	(6.33)
BB	0.02	0.09	1.71	11.42	15.94	8.65	0.79	15.93	45.46
	(0.08)	(0.16)	(1.28)	(3.38)	(5.24)	(3.25)	(0.50)	(5.30)	(4.08)
B	0.00	0.04	0.42	2.32	6.78	9.41	0.99	29.44	50.59
	(0.00)	(0.08)	(0.64)	(1.85)	(1.79)	(3.25)	(0.61)	(7.80)	(4.99)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.18	0.68	2.58	2.58	0.25	56.73	37.00
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.65)	(1.04)	(2.55)	(2.40)	(0.64)	(10.70)	(9.12)
Global
AAA	25.01	34.17	9.44	2.83	0.17	0.19	0.06	0.72	27.42
	(9.12)	(13.65)	(3.05)	(2.27)	(0.33)	(0.47)	(0.22)	(0.76)	(6.61)
AA	1.23	28.62	29.44	6.66	0.94	0.41	0.02	0.79	31.88
	(0.79)	(4.09)	(3.45)	(1.75)	(0.71)	(0.35)	(0.08)	(0.59)	(3.75)
A	0.10	5.24	37.03	17.45	2.69	0.93	0.13	1.46	34.98
	(0.16)	(1.51)	(5.62)	(2.02)	(0.85)	(0.63)	(0.16)	(0.81)	(4.18)
BBB	0.02	0.64	11.24	34.71	6.65	2.24	0.28	4.05	40.17
	(0.09)	(0.65)	(3.03)	(6.38)	(1.17)	(1.07)	(0.22)	(2.17)	(4.02)
BB	0.01	0.07	1.68	11.45	16.21	7.87	0.64	14.15	47.92
	(0.07)	(0.13)	(1.05)	(2.82)	(5.00)	(2.15)	(0.38)	(6.14)	(2.88)
B	0.00	0.03	0.37	2.40	7.16	9.49	0.92	27.54	52.09
	(0.00)	(0.07)	(0.59)	(1.68)	(1.85)	(3.08)	(0.55)	(8.40)	(4.76)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.79	3.61	3.93	0.32	51.78	39.43
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.54)	(0.92)	(2.40)	(3.12)	(0.61)	(11.74)	(9.40)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

When looking at rating transitions in more detail by including the rating modifier--the plus (+) or minus (-) following the rating--the same relationship generally holds true. There are frequently differences in stability rates among rating modifiers within the same rating category. For example, within the 'AA' category, the 'AA+' rating has a stability rate of 80.68%, which is lower than the stability rate of 82.01% for debt rated one notch lower at 'AA' (see Table 12).

Table 12

Average One-Year Transition Rates For U.S. Corporates By Rating Modifier, 1981-2019 (%)
	--Rating--
From/to	AAA	AA+	AA	AA-	A+	A	A-	BBB+	BBB	BBB-	BB+	BB	BB-	B+	B	B-	CCC/C	D	NR
AAA	87.37	5.24	2.68	0.70	0.21	0.21	0.17	0.00	0.04	0.00	0.04	0.08	0.04	0.00	0.04	0.00	0.04	0.00	3.14
	(10.13)	(9.63)	(4.28)	(1.18)	(0.59)	(0.70)	(0.50)	(0.00)	(0.21)	(0.00)	(0.24)	(0.28)	(0.21)	(0.00)	(0.27)	(0.00)	(0.27)	(0.00)	(2.48)
AA+	2.17	80.68	8.62	4.03	0.64	0.24	0.16	0.00	0.16	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.30
	(3.39)	(15.15)	(8.38)	(5.38)	(3.25)	(0.96)	(0.72)	(0.00)	(0.99)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(4.70)
AA	0.45	1.25	82.01	7.04	2.58	1.35	0.35	0.50	0.18	0.10	0.05	0.05	0.03	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.08	0.03	3.93
	(0.52)	(1.56)	(8.00)	(4.39)	(2.24)	(1.48)	(1.09)	(1.06)	(0.41)	(0.41)	(0.22)	(0.19)	(0.13)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.12)	(0.24)	(0.17)	(3.09)
AA-	0.03	0.16	3.67	78.17	9.54	2.62	0.58	0.32	0.08	0.08	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.16	0.00	0.00	0.05	4.44
	(0.18)	(0.44)	(3.33)	(8.87)	(5.68)	(2.93)	(1.00)	(0.67)	(0.29)	(0.30)	(0.29)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.24)	(0.55)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.21)	(2.69)
A+	0.00	0.10	0.58	4.02	79.28	8.05	2.30	0.75	0.40	0.10	0.07	0.15	0.02	0.07	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.05	4.02
	(0.00)	(0.35)	(0.87)	(2.54)	(6.44)	(3.46)	(1.83)	(0.90)	(0.50)	(0.25)	(0.20)	(0.35)	(0.08)	(0.20)	(0.17)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.21)	(2.17)
A	0.06	0.02	0.32	0.41	5.08	79.17	6.04	2.76	1.02	0.32	0.15	0.15	0.10	0.09	0.03	0.00	0.02	0.07	4.17
	(0.17)	(0.09)	(0.59)	(0.54)	(1.93)	(5.18)	(2.71)	(1.98)	(1.08)	(0.47)	(0.25)	(0.35)	(0.37)	(0.30)	(0.15)	(0.00)	(0.10)	(0.16)	(2.41)
A-	0.06	0.01	0.06	0.19	0.46	6.35	77.65	7.18	2.40	0.56	0.13	0.16	0.14	0.14	0.03	0.01	0.06	0.09	4.32
	(0.26)	(0.08)	(0.20)	(0.38)	(0.62)	(3.47)	(7.60)	(4.10)	(1.52)	(0.75)	(0.39)	(0.45)	(0.33)	(0.47)	(0.11)	(0.11)	(0.25)	(0.26)	(2.11)
BBB+	0.00	0.01	0.09	0.07	0.26	0.95	7.10	74.97	8.25	1.93	0.43	0.33	0.16	0.23	0.13	0.04	0.09	0.14	4.83
	(0.00)	(0.08)	(0.25)	(0.22)	(0.56)	(1.20)	(3.32)	(7.66)	(3.72)	(1.78)	(0.68)	(0.77)	(0.29)	(0.54)	(0.38)	(0.17)	(0.22)	(0.31)	(2.61)
BBB	0.01	0.00	0.03	0.03	0.14	0.42	1.21	7.17	76.76	5.72	1.40	0.62	0.34	0.31	0.13	0.02	0.07	0.21	5.40
	(0.09)	(0.00)	(0.12)	(0.16)	(0.29)	(0.84)	(1.23)	(3.23)	(5.98)	(2.56)	(1.16)	(0.73)	(0.59)	(0.55)	(0.47)	(0.09)	(0.18)	(0.35)	(2.57)
BBB-	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.08	0.08	0.17	0.34	1.33	9.10	73.21	4.74	2.39	1.09	0.47	0.20	0.20	0.17	0.28	6.12
	(0.10)	(0.09)	(0.08)	(0.27)	(0.22)	(0.48)	(0.63)	(1.45)	(2.94)	(6.18)	(2.45)	(1.84)	(1.01)	(0.92)	(0.55)	(0.56)	(0.32)	(0.47)	(2.46)
BB+	0.08	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.03	0.15	0.13	0.41	2.27	10.93	65.85	6.44	3.02	1.24	0.75	0.26	0.36	0.41	7.63
	(0.35)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.21)	(0.14)	(0.52)	(0.31)	(0.94)	(2.44)	(5.04)	(7.92)	(3.53)	(2.54)	(2.14)	(1.44)	(0.49)	(0.98)	(0.79)	(3.12)
BB	0.00	0.00	0.06	0.02	0.00	0.10	0.06	0.18	0.67	2.48	8.45	66.23	8.24	2.54	1.36	0.43	0.39	0.65	8.16
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.27)	(0.11)	(0.00)	(0.46)	(0.27)	(0.51)	(1.01)	(2.72)	(4.96)	(6.64)	(3.57)	(1.88)	(1.85)	(0.71)	(0.84)	(0.78)	(3.61)
BB-	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.07	0.15	0.23	0.41	1.93	8.99	64.02	8.29	3.38	1.03	0.80	0.96	9.71
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.12)	(0.10)	(0.10)	(0.34)	(0.31)	(0.53)	(0.75)	(1.76)	(4.40)	(6.44)	(4.51)	(2.07)	(0.99)	(0.92)	(1.36)	(2.80)
B+	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.04	0.00	0.03	0.08	0.04	0.06	0.12	0.26	1.25	7.33	64.95	8.84	2.41	1.80	2.02	10.74
	(0.00)	(0.07)	(0.00)	(0.16)	(0.00)	(0.10)	(0.23)	(0.14)	(0.19)	(0.25)	(0.38)	(1.12)	(3.24)	(5.34)	(3.94)	(1.20)	(1.59)	(2.11)	(2.84)
B	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.04	0.05	0.02	0.05	0.02	0.12	0.24	1.03	7.09	62.96	9.12	4.16	3.45	11.62
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.10)	(0.07)	(0.00)	(0.22)	(0.41)	(0.10)	(0.31)	(0.11)	(0.35)	(0.62)	(1.20)	(3.05)	(7.21)	(4.03)	(3.52)	(4.27)	(2.63)
B-	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.05	0.00	0.10	0.05	0.12	0.12	0.10	0.44	2.12	9.18	54.97	12.63	7.31	12.78
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.36)	(0.37)	(0.00)	(0.40)	(0.21)	(0.49)	(0.59)	(1.03)	(1.18)	(2.39)	(5.66)	(9.20)	(4.71)	(7.02)	(4.78)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.04	0.00	0.12	0.08	0.08	0.08	0.04	0.20	0.43	1.17	3.01	7.54	44.06	29.14	14.02
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.28)	(0.00)	(0.46)	(0.54)	(0.36)	(0.47)	(0.27)	(0.61)	(0.90)	(1.57)	(3.48)	(4.92)	(8.36)	(10.96)	(5.17)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

In addition to greater ratings stability, higher-rated issuers have lower default rates over time. In the U.S., there is a lower frequency of defaults among higher-rated entities, and vice versa. This relationship remains true over time, as the cumulative average default rates illustrate (see Tables 13 and 14 and Chart 7, which illustrate the data in the top half of Table 12). From this view, the relationship between default rates and ratings is most apparent, with the default rates of the lowest rating categories far exceeding those of the investment-grade categories.

Table 13

Comparison Of Corporate Average Cumulative Default Rates, 1981-2019 (%)
	--Time horizon (years)--
Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
U.S.
AAA	0.00	0.04	0.17	0.29	0.41	0.54	0.58	0.66	0.75	0.83	0.87	0.92	0.96	1.05	1.15
AA	0.03	0.08	0.17	0.30	0.43	0.57	0.71	0.82	0.91	1.02	1.11	1.19	1.27	1.34	1.43
A	0.07	0.20	0.34	0.52	0.69	0.89	1.11	1.31	1.53	1.76	1.96	2.14	2.32	2.48	2.65
BBB	0.21	0.53	0.91	1.39	1.90	2.41	2.86	3.32	3.77	4.21	4.63	4.94	5.23	5.54	5.89
BB	0.73	2.28	4.17	6.01	7.68	9.29	10.66	11.94	13.06	14.07	14.90	15.69	16.40	17.00	17.63
B	3.52	8.22	12.41	15.71	18.30	20.42	22.13	23.50	24.72	25.87	26.83	27.57	28.27	28.92	29.55
CCC/C	29.14	40.14	45.67	49.03	51.62	52.81	54.27	55.14	55.95	56.63	57.26	57.78	58.32	58.81	58.81
Investment grade	0.12	0.31	0.53	0.82	1.11	1.41	1.70	1.98	2.25	2.52	2.77	2.98	3.17	3.36	3.57
Speculative grade	4.03	7.91	11.28	14.01	16.23	18.08	19.64	20.93	22.08	23.14	24.02	24.76	25.45	26.06	26.64
All rated	1.79	3.54	5.09	6.38	7.45	8.38	9.16	9.83	10.43	11.00	11.48	11.87	12.24	12.57	12.90
Global
AAA	0.00	0.03	0.13	0.24	0.35	0.45	0.51	0.59	0.64	0.70	0.73	0.76	0.79	0.85	0.91
AA	0.02	0.06	0.12	0.21	0.31	0.42	0.50	0.58	0.65	0.72	0.78	0.84	0.90	0.96	1.02
A	0.05	0.14	0.23	0.35	0.47	0.62	0.79	0.93	1.08	1.24	1.37	1.50	1.63	1.75	1.89
BBB	0.16	0.45	0.78	1.17	1.58	1.98	2.33	2.67	3.00	3.32	3.65	3.92	4.16	4.42	4.69
BB	0.61	1.92	3.48	5.05	6.52	7.85	9.01	10.04	10.97	11.78	12.46	13.08	13.64	14.12	14.67
B	3.33	7.71	11.55	14.58	16.93	18.83	20.36	21.60	22.70	23.74	24.63	25.30	25.92	26.53	27.12
CCC/C	27.08	36.64	41.41	44.10	46.19	47.09	48.26	49.05	49.76	50.38	50.87	51.39	51.99	52.52	52.59
Investment grade	0.09	0.24	0.42	0.65	0.88	1.11	1.32	1.52	1.72	1.91	2.10	2.25	2.40	2.55	2.71
Speculative grade	3.61	7.00	9.93	12.31	14.26	15.85	17.19	18.31	19.31	20.22	20.98	21.62	22.20	22.74	23.28
All rated	1.48	2.89	4.13	5.17	6.04	6.76	7.38	7.90	8.37	8.80	9.18	9.49	9.78	10.05	10.32
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 14

U.S. Corporate Average Cumulative Default Rates By Rating Modifier, 1981-2019 (%)
	--Time horizon (years)--
Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
AAA	0.00	0.04	0.17	0.29	0.41	0.54	0.58	0.66	0.75	0.83	0.87	0.92	0.96	1.05	1.15
AA+	0.00	0.08	0.08	0.17	0.26	0.35	0.45	0.55	0.65	0.75	0.86	0.97	1.08	1.19	1.30
AA	0.03	0.05	0.13	0.31	0.49	0.65	0.81	0.94	1.05	1.18	1.29	1.37	1.52	1.60	1.69
AA-	0.05	0.11	0.24	0.33	0.42	0.56	0.69	0.78	0.84	0.91	0.98	1.04	1.04	1.08	1.16
A+	0.05	0.12	0.27	0.49	0.65	0.80	0.97	1.13	1.33	1.53	1.72	1.91	2.14	2.39	2.60
A	0.07	0.19	0.30	0.48	0.65	0.85	1.05	1.26	1.52	1.82	2.05	2.21	2.36	2.47	2.67
A-	0.09	0.28	0.45	0.59	0.77	1.01	1.31	1.56	1.73	1.87	2.04	2.24	2.42	2.54	2.64
BBB+	0.14	0.39	0.68	0.99	1.35	1.73	2.00	2.30	2.67	3.02	3.31	3.49	3.67	3.97	4.30
BBB	0.21	0.55	0.83	1.28	1.71	2.13	2.58	3.04	3.50	3.96	4.43	4.78	5.09	5.23	5.50
BBB-	0.28	0.67	1.28	1.97	2.74	3.50	4.17	4.80	5.32	5.82	6.33	6.74	7.12	7.72	8.18
BB+	0.41	1.25	2.20	3.29	4.40	5.54	6.57	7.29	8.13	8.92	9.51	10.20	10.89	11.38	12.10
BB	0.65	1.78	3.65	5.30	6.90	8.36	9.63	10.74	11.71	12.61	13.53	14.27	14.79	15.18	15.62
BB-	0.96	3.23	5.64	8.03	10.05	12.02	13.66	15.34	16.72	17.92	18.82	19.69	20.56	21.36	22.08
B+	2.02	5.74	9.38	12.55	15.05	17.02	18.88	20.51	22.00	23.38	24.51	25.28	26.07	26.81	27.52
B	3.45	7.97	12.06	15.14	17.72	20.04	21.59	22.64	23.66	24.63	25.38	26.22	26.92	27.49	28.08
B-	7.31	14.99	20.97	25.19	28.10	30.29	31.94	33.15	33.88	34.58	35.36	35.83	36.13	36.56	36.93
CCC/C	29.14	40.14	45.67	49.03	51.62	52.81	54.27	55.14	55.95	56.63	57.26	57.78	58.32	58.81	58.81
Investment grade	0.12	0.31	0.53	0.82	1.11	1.41	1.70	1.98	2.25	2.52	2.77	2.98	3.17	3.36	3.57
Speculative grade	4.03	7.91	11.28	14.01	16.23	18.08	19.64	20.93	22.08	23.14	24.02	24.76	25.45	26.06	26.64
All rated	1.79	3.54	5.09	6.38	7.45	8.38	9.16	9.83	10.43	11.00	11.48	11.87	12.24	12.57	12.90
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Of the 78 total U.S. corporate defaults in 2019, only five were initially rated investment-grade. These were Rite Aid Corp., The Neiman Marcus Group LLC, PG&E Corp., Pacific Gas & Electric Co., and Shopko Stores Inc. PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. are from the utilities sector, and the other three are in the consumer/service sector. Rite Aid Corp. was initially rated 'A' on Dec. 31, 1980, but was rated 'B' three years prior to default. Shopko Stores Inc. was initially rated 'BBB+' on Feb. 26, 1992, but the rating was withdrawn in December 2005. PG&E Corp. was initially rated 'BBB+' on March 10, 2009, and was rated 'BBB' three years prior to default. The Neiman Marcus Group LLC was initially rated 'BBB' on April 30, 1998, but was rated 'B-' three years prior to default. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was initially rated 'BBB-' on April 16, 2004, and was rated 'BBB' three years prior to default.

The time to default--the average number of years between the initial rating and default--for the 78 U.S. corporate defaulters in 2019 was 6.12 years, shorter than average of 7.05 years in 2018. The ratings history of Rite Aid Corp. dates back to the beginning of the data series used in this study and had the longest time to default at 38.79 years. Murray Energy Corp. had the shortest time to default at 192 days. However, prior to the issuer's October 2019 default due to a missed principal payment, it had defaulted in 2016, 2018, and March 2019 due to distressed exchanges.

Historically, issuers rated in higher rating categories exhibit a longer time to default on average than issuers rated in lower rating categories (see Chart 8 and Tables 14-15). For example, from 1981-2019, the time to default from initial rating for U.S. issuers rated 'B' averaged 5.3 years, while issuers rated 'BB' had an average of 7.6 years. This relationship is true for every sequential rating category from 'AAA' to 'CCC'/'C'. The relationship also holds when the time to default is measured using ratings other than the initial ones.

Table 15

Time To Default From Original Rating Among Corporate Defaulters (U.S. Versus Global), 1981-2019
Original rating	Defaults	Average years from original rating*	Median years from original rating	Standard deviation of years from original rating
U.S.
AAA	7	19	28	11
AA	27	17	20	9
A	84	15	12	9
BBB	151	10	9	7
BB	440	8	6	6
B	1,219	5	4	4
CCC/C	200	2	1	3
Total	2,128	6	4	6
Global
AAA	8	18	19	11
AA	30	16	17	9
A	99	14	11	9
BBB	215	9	7	7
BB	623	7	5	6
B	1,593	5	4	4
CCC/C	304	2	1	3
Total	2,872	6	4	6
*Or Dec. 31, 1980, whichever is later. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Throughout the 39-year span from 1981-2019, seven U.S. issuers initially rated 'AAA' have defaulted: Macy's Inc., Ally Financial Inc. (formerly known as GMAC Financial, a subsidiary of General Motors Corp.), Ambac Assurance Corp., Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co., Executive Life Insurance Co. CA, Motors Liquidation Co. (formerly known as General Motors Corp.), and Eastman Kodak Co. For these issuers, the average time between initial rating and default was 19.4 years.

Table 16

Time To Default From Post-Original Ratings Among Corporate Defaulters (U.S. Versus Global), 1981-2019
Rating path to default	Average years from rating category	Median years from rating category	Standard deviation of years from rating category
U.S.
AAA	23.68	23.3	8.2
AA	15.30	16.8	8.6
A	11.88	10.2	8.2
BBB	8.69	7.1	7.1
BB	6.71	5.0	6.0
B	3.42	2.1	4.0
CCC/C	0.97	0.4	1.8
NR	5.25	3.3	5.5
Total	3.78	1.6	5.2
Global
AAA	23.7	23.3	8.2
AA	14.1	15.5	8.9
A	11.2	9.6	8.2
BBB	8.2	6.4	6.9
BB	5.9	4.0	5.7
B	3.1	1.8	3.8
CCC/C	0.9	0.3	1.6
NR	4.9	2.9	5.3
Total	3.3	1.3	4.8
NR--Not rated. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Gini Ratios And Lorenz Curves

A quantitative analysis of the performance of S&P Global Ratings' credit ratings shows that corporate credit ratings continue to correlate with the level of default risk across several time horizons. To measure ratings performance, the cumulative share of defaulters is plotted against the cumulative share of issuers by rating in a Lorenz curve to visually render the accuracy of the rank ordering (see Charts 9-11 and Appendix III). Over the long term, the U.S. weighted average one-year transition to default has a one-year Gini coefficient of 80.71%, a three-year Gini coefficient of 72.84%, a five-year Gini coefficient of 69.01%, and a seven-year Gini coefficient of 66.79% (see Table 17). These Gini weighted-average ratios are weighted by yearly issuer count since 1981 (see Appendix II).

Table 17

Corporate Gini Coefficients By Region (1981-2019)
	--Time horizon (years)--
Region	1	3	5	7
Global
Weighted average	82.53	75.19	71.38	69.27
Average	85.39	78.56	74.16	71.20
Standard deviation	5.56	5.26	5.36	5.35
U.S.
Weighted average	80.71	72.84	69.01	66.79
Average	84.41	76.52	71.92	68.88
Standard deviation	6.98	6.75	6.74	6.29
Europe
Weighted average	90.24	85.12	82.56	80.01
Average	91.88	87.86	82.91	77.04
Standard deviation	4.91	5.36	6.54	11.33
The average and standard deviation for Europe calculated for 1996-2019. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

As expected, Gini coefficients decline as the time horizon lengthens because longer time horizons increase the likelihood of credit degradation among higher-rated entities. In the one-year U.S. Lorenz curve, for example, speculative-grade issuers accounted for 96.3% of total corporate defaults from 1981-2019 but for only 42.9% of total issuers during that time (see Charts 9 and 10). The five-year Lorenz curve shows that speculative-grade issuers made up 91.0% of defaulters and only 40.9% of the entire sample (see Chart 11). If the rank ordering of ratings had little predictive value, the cumulative share of defaulting corporate entities and the cumulative share of all entities at each rating level would be nearly the same, producing a Gini ratio of zero.

Trends in the one-year Gini ratio emerge during periods of both extreme highs and lows in the default cycle. In periods with a high number of defaults, there tends to be greater variation in the distribution of defaults across the ratings spectrum, which reduces the Gini ratio. That is, when default pressure is high, economic conditions are such that issuers across the rating spectrum are more likely to suffer a rapid deterioration of credit quality. The one-year Gini ratio for U.S. corporate ratings decreased to 87.3% in 2019 from 94.3% in 2018 (the lowest recorded was 57.5% in 2008). The three-year U.S. Gini ratio widened to 84.1% from 81.4%, and the seven-year Gini tightened to 71.0% from 72.6% (see Chart 12).

Appendix I: Methodology And Definitions

This long-term corporate default and rating transition study uses the CreditPro database of long-term local-currency issuer credit ratings. The analysis excludes public information (pi) ratings and ratings based on the guarantee of another company or government entity. We also do not include short-term issuer ratings. S&P Global Ratings does not require all issuers with debt rated to have an issuer credit rating. Therefore, if an issuer has rated debt but not an issuer credit rating, we assign a proxy rating so that the CreditPro corporate dataset accurately represents the complete universe of ratings. The local-currency senior unsecured rating is the preferred debt-level rating used for the proxy because this rating is usually consistent with the issuer credit rating. In a small number of cases, we use the subordinated debt rating or the senior secured rating as the proxy.

An S&P Global Ratings issuer credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about an obligor's overall creditworthiness. This opinion focuses on the obligor's capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due. It does not apply to any specific financial obligation because it does not take into account the nature and provisions of any single obligation, its standing in bankruptcy or liquidation, statutory preferences, or the legality and enforceability of the obligation. Counterparty credit ratings, corporate credit ratings, and sovereign credit ratings are all forms of issuer credit ratings. Issuer credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term.

S&P Global Ratings' ongoing enhancement of the database used to generate this study could lead to outcomes that differ to some degree from those reported in previous studies. However, this poses no continuity problem because each study reports statistics back to Dec. 31, 1980. Therefore, each annual default study is self-contained and effectively supersedes all previous versions.

Issuers included in this study

For the purposes of this study, the U.S. region includes the tax havens of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

The study analyzes the rating histories of 11,539 issuers in the U.S. that S&P Global Ratings rated as of Dec. 31, 1980, or that were first rated between that date and Dec. 31, 2019. These include industrials, utilities, financial institutions, and insurance companies with long-term local-currency ratings. Structured finance vehicles, public-sector issuers, and sovereign issuers are the subject of separate default and transition studies, and we exclude them from this study.

In this study, the insurance industry includes life insurance, health insurance, property/casualty insurance, reinsurance, bond insurance, mortgage insurance, and title insurance. In addition to these subsectors, this study also groups insurance service providers (such as insurance brokers and third-party administrators that are rated according to corporate criteria) with the insurance industry.

To avoid overcounting, we exclude subsidiaries with debt that is fully guaranteed by a parent or with default risk that is considered identical to that of their parents. The latter are issuers with obligations that are not legally guaranteed by a parent but that have operating or financing activities that are so inextricably entwined with those of the parent that it would be impossible to imagine the default of one and not the other. At times, however, some of these subsidiaries might not yet have been covered by a parent's guarantee, or the relationship that combines the default risk of parent and subsidiary might have come to an end or might not have begun. We included such subsidiaries for the period during which they had distinct and separate risk of default.

Issuers with withdrawn ratings

S&P Global Ratings withdraws ratings when an entity's entire debt is paid off or when the program or programs rated are terminated and the relevant debt extinguished. For the purposes of this study, a corporate rating may also be withdrawn as a result of mergers and acquisitions. Others are withdrawn because of a lack of cooperation, particularly when an issuer is experiencing financial difficulties and refuses to provide all the information needed to continue surveillance on the ratings, or at the entity's request.

Definition of default

An obligor rated 'SD' or 'D' is in default on one or more of its financial obligations, including rated and unrated financial obligations but excluding hybrid instruments classified as regulatory capital or in nonpayment according to terms. An obligor is considered in default unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within five business days of the due date in the absence of a stated grace period, or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. A 'D' rating is assigned when S&P Global Ratings believes that the default will be a general default and that the obligor will fail to pay all or substantially all of its obligations as they come due. An 'SD' rating is assigned when S&P Global Ratings believes that the obligor has selectively defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but will continue to meet its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner. We lower our rating on an obligor to 'D' or 'SD' if it is conducting a distressed exchange offer. 'R' indicates that an obligor is under regulatory supervision owing to its financial condition. This does not necessarily indicate a default event, but during the period of regulatory supervision, the regulators may have the power to favor one class of obligations over others or pay some obligations and not others. Preferred stock is not considered a financial obligation; thus, a missed preferred stock dividend is not normally equated with default.

We deem 'D', 'SD', and 'R' issuer ratings to be defaults for the purposes of this study. A default is assumed to take place on the earliest of:

• The date S&P Global Ratings revised the rating(s) to 'D', 'SD', or 'R';
• The date a debt payment was missed;
• The date a distressed exchange offer was announced; or
• The date the debtor filed for, or was forced into, bankruptcy.

When an issuer defaults, it is not uncommon for S&P Global Ratings to subsequently withdraw the 'D' rating. For the purposes of this study, if an issuer defaults, we end its rating history at 'D'. If any defaulting entity reemerges from bankruptcy--or otherwise restructures its defaulted debt instruments, thereby reestablishing regular, timely payment of all its debts--we reenter this issuer into the database as a new entity. Its rating history after the default event is included in all calculations as entirely separate from its experience leading up to its earlier default.

Many practitioners use statistics from this default study to estimate the probability of default and probability of rating transition. It is important to note that S&P Global Ratings' ratings do not imply a specific probability of default.

Calculations

Static pool methodology  S&P Global Ratings conducts its default studies on the basis of groupings called static pools. For the purposes of this study, we form static pools by grouping issuers (for example by rating category) at the beginning of each year, quarter, or month that the database covers. Each static pool is followed from that point forward. All issuers included in the study are assigned to one or more static pools. When an issuer defaults, we assign that default back to all of the static pools to which the issuer belonged.

S&P Global Ratings uses the static pool methodology to avoid certain pitfalls in estimating default rates. This is to ensure that default rates account for rating migration and to allow for default rates to be calculated across multiperiod time horizons. Some methods for calculating default and rating transition rates might charge defaults against only the initial rating on the issuer, ignoring more recent rating changes that supply more current information. Other methods may calculate default rates using only the most recent year's default and rating data, which may yield comparatively low default rates during periods of high rating activity because they ignore prior years' default activity.

The pools are static in the sense that their membership remains constant over time. Each static pool can be interpreted as a buy-and-hold portfolio. Because errors, if any, are corrected by every new update and because the criteria for inclusion or exclusion of issuers in the default study are subject to minor revisions as time goes by, it is not possible to compare static pools across different studies. Therefore, every new update revises results back to the same starting date of Dec. 31, 1980, so as to avoid continuity problems.

Entities that have had ratings withdrawn--that is, revised to 'NR'--are surveilled with the aim of capturing a potential default. Because static pools only include entities with active ratings as of the beginning date of a given pool, we exclude issuers with withdrawn ratings, as well as those that have defaulted, from subsequent static pools. If an entity has its rating withdrawn after the start date of a particular static pool and subsequently defaults, we will include it in that static pool as a default and categorize it in the rating category it was a member of at that time.

For instance, the 1981 static pool consists of all issuers rated as of 12 a.m. Jan. 1, 1981. Adding those issuers first rated in 1981 to the surviving members of the 1981 static pool forms the 1982 static pool. All rating changes that took place are reflected in the newly formed 1982 static pool through the ratings on these entities as of 12 a.m. Jan. 1, 1982. We used the same method to form static pools for 1983 through 2019. From Jan. 1, 1981, to Dec. 31, 2019, a total of 10,220 first-time-rated organizations were added to form new static pools, while we excluded 2,128 defaulting issuers and 6,151 issuers with last ratings of 'NR'.

Consider the following example: An issuer is originally rated 'BB' in mid-1986 and is downgraded to 'B' in 1988. This is followed by a rating withdrawal in 1990 and a default in 1993. We would include this hypothetical issuer in the 1987 and 1988 pools with the 'BB' rating, which it was rated at the beginning of those years. Likewise, it would be included in the 1989 and 1990 pools with the 'B' rating. It would not be part of the 1986 pool because it was not rated as of the first day of that year, and it would not be included in any pool after the last day of 1990 because the rating had been withdrawn by then. Yet each of the four pools in which this issuer was included (1987-1990) would record its 1993 default at the appropriate time horizon.

Default rate calculation  We calculated annual default rates for each static pool, first in units and later as percentages with respect to the number of issuers in each rating category. We combined these percentages to obtain cumulative default rates for the 39 years the study covers.

Issuer-weighted default rates  All default rates that appear in this study are based on the number of issuers rather than the dollar amounts affected by defaults or rating changes. Although dollar amounts provide information about the portion of the market that is affected by defaults or rating changes, issuer-weighted averages are a more useful measure of the performance of ratings.

Average cumulative default rate calculation  The cumulative default rates in this study average the experience of all static pools by first calculating marginal default rates for each possible time horizon and for each static pool, weight-averaging the marginal default rates conditional on survival (survivors being non-defaulters), and accumulating the average conditional marginal default rates (see Tables 5, 12-13, and 19-21). We calculated conditional default rates by dividing the number of issuers in a static pool that default at a specific time horizon by the number of issuers that survived (did not default) to that point in time. Weights are based on the number of issuers in each static pool. Cumulative default rates are one minus the product of the proportion of survivors (non-defaulters).

For instance, in Table 21, the weighted-average first-year default rate for all speculative-grade-rated issuers in the U.S. for all 39 pools was 4.03%, meaning that an average of 95.97% survived one year. Similarly, the second- and third-year conditional marginal averages--shown in the summary statistics section at the bottom portion of the table--were 4.04% for the first 38 pools (95.96% of those issuers that did not default in the first year survived the second year) and 3.67% for the first 37 pools (96.33% of those issuers that did not default by the second year survived the third year), respectively. Multiplying 95.97% by 95.96% results in a 92.09% survival rate to the end of the second year, which is a two-year average cumulative default rate of 7.91%. Multiplying 92.09% by 96.33% results in an 88.72% survival rate to the end of the third year, which is a three-year average cumulative default rate of 11.28%.

Transition analysis  Transition rates compare issuer ratings at the beginning of a time period with ratings at the end of the period. To compute one-year rating transition rates by rating category, we compared the rating on each entity at the end of a particular year with the rating at the beginning of the same year. An issuer that remained rated for more than one year was counted as many times as the number of years it was rated. For instance, an issuer continually rated from the middle of 1984 to the middle of 1991 would appear in the seven consecutive one-year transition matrices from 1985 to 1991. If the rating on the issuer was withdrawn in the middle of 1991, it would be included in the column representing transitions to 'NR' in the 1991 transition matrix. Similarly, if it defaulted in the middle of 1991, it would be included in the column representing transitions to 'D' in the 1991 one-year transition matrix.

All 1981 static pool members still rated on Jan. 1, 2019, had 39 one-year transitions, while issuers first rated on Jan. 1, 2019, had only one. Each one-year transition matrix displays all rating movements between letter categories from the beginning of the year through year-end. For each rating listed in the matrix's left-most column, there are nine ratios listed in the rows, corresponding to the ratings from 'AAA' to 'D', plus an entry for 'NR' (see Table 23).

The only ratings considered in these calculations are those on entities at the beginning of each static pool and those at the end. All rating changes that occur in between are ignored. For example, if an entity was rated 'A' on Jan. 1, 2019, and was downgraded to 'BBB' in the middle of the year and then later upgraded to 'A' later in the year (with no other subsequent rating changes), this entity would only be included in the percentage of issuers that began the year as 'A' that ended the year as 'A'. This also applies to transition matrices that span longer time horizons. If an issuer defaults or has its rating withdrawn in the middle of the year, then either 'D' or 'NR' would be considered its rating as of Dec. 31 of that particular year.

Multiyear transitions  Multiyear transitions were also calculated for periods of two up to 15 years. In this case, we compared the rating at the beginning of the multiyear period with the rating at the end. For example, three-year transition matrices were the result of comparing ratings at the beginning of the years 1981-2017 with the ratings at the end of the years 1983-2019. Otherwise, the methodology was identical to that used for single-year transitions.

We calculated average transition matrices on the basis of the multiyear matrices just described. These average matrices are a true summary, the ratios of which represent the historical incidence of the ratings listed on the first column, changing to the ones listed on the top row over the course of the multiyear period (see Tables 24-27). Transition matrices that present averages over multiple time horizons are also calculated as issuer-weighted averages.

Rating modifiers

We use rating modifiers (plus and minus signs) to calculate the upgrade and downgrade percentages, as well as the magnitude of rating changes throughout this study. However, some transition tables may use full rating categories for practical reasons. In other words, the use of a rating category suggests that transitions from, for example, 'AA' to 'AA-' or from 'BBB+' to 'BBB-' are not considered to be rating transitions because the rating remained within the rating category.

Comparing transition rates with default rates

Rating transition rates may be compared with the marginal and cumulative default rates described in the previous sections. For example, the one-year default rate column of Table 12 is equivalent to column 'D' of the average one-year transition matrix in Table 8 and the cumulative average in summary statistics of the Year 1 column in Table 19. However, the three-year default rate column in Table 12 is not the same as column 'D' of the average three-year transition matrix in Table 9. This difference results from the different methods of calculating default rates. The default rates in Table 9 are calculated as not conditional on survival, while those in Table 12 are average default rates, conditional on survival. The three-year default rates in Table 12 are calculated in the same way as those in the cumulative average section for the Year 3 column in Table 19, while those in the 'D' column of Table 9 are equivalent to adding up all the defaults behind the Year 3 column's annual default rates in Table 19 divided by the sum of all the issuers in Table 19 for the years 1981-2017.

The links between transition matrices and average cumulative default rates can be best illustrated through Tables 19-21. The default rates in the columns of these tables, associated with each static pool year, are calculated in the same way as they would be for individual years' one-year transition matrices. Tables 19-21 are broken out by the broadest rating classifications (all rated, investment-grade, and speculative-grade, respectively). These tables can also be constructed for each rating category. As an example, the Year 2 column in Table 19 shows the two-year default rates (conditional on survival) for each static pool. These are calculated in the same way as the default column in Table 7, though Table 7 shows the one-year default rates for each rating category for 2019 exclusively. In the summary section at the bottom of Tables 19-21, the first row shows the issuer-weighted averages of the marginal default rates. These marginal averages are then used to calculate the cumulative average default rates in the row directly beneath them, as explained in the average cumulative default rate section above. These default rates are the same that appear in Table 12 and are average cumulative default rates conditional on survival.

Standard deviations

Many of the tables and charts in this study display averages of default rates, transition rates, and Gini ratios. Often these are issuer-weighted averages. Prior studies have shown that fluctuations within default rates and transitions can vary greatly depending on many circumstances specific to particular time frames, industries, and geographic regions. As a supplement to many of the averages and time series presented in this study, standard deviations are also shown to provide a gauge of the dispersion of data behind these averages.

For the transition matrices in Tables 8-11 and 24-27, the standard deviation for each cell in a given matrix is a weighted standard deviation, calculated using the data from each of the underlying cohort years that contribute to the averages, weighted by that cohort year's issuer base for each rating level. For example, in the average one-year global transition matrix in Table 8, each cell's weighted standard deviation is calculated from the series of that particular cell in each of the 39 cohorts beginning with the 1981 cohort and ending with the 2019 cohort. The squared difference between each cohort's transition rate and the weighted average--which is the data point in each cell--is multiplied by each cohort's weight. These weights are based on each cohort's rating level's contribution to the 39-year total issuer base for each rating level. We then divide this by the ratio of the total number of nonzero weights minus one and the total number of nonzero weights.

Regarding Gini ratios in Table 16, their standard deviations are derived from the time series of Gini ratios for all of their constituent annual cohorts. As an example, the standard deviation applied to the seven-year weighted average U.S. Gini ratio in Table 16 (6.29) was calculated from the time series of all available seven-year Gini ratios by cohort. In this case, these are the seven-year Gini ratios beginning with the 1981 cohort through the 2013 seven-year cohort. We calculated standard deviations for Gini ratios in this study as the standard deviations of a sample, and not those of a population.

Time sample

This update limits the reporting of default rates to the 15-year time horizon. However, the data were gathered for 39 years, and all calculations are based on the rating experience of that period. In addition, average default statistics become less reliable at longer time horizons as the sample size becomes smaller and the cyclical nature of default rates has a bigger effect on averages.

Appendix II: Additional Tables

Table 18

U.S. Corporate Default Rates By Rating Category (%)
	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C
1981	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.33	0.00
1982	0.00	0.00	0.22	0.35	4.29	3.18	21.43
1983	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.34	1.20	4.70	6.67
1984	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.69	1.18	3.49	25.00
1985	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.56	6.57	15.38
1986	0.00	0.00	0.18	0.34	1.36	8.54	23.08
1987	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	3.16	12.28
1988	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.07	3.71	20.37
1989	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.63	0.73	3.42	31.37
1990	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.59	3.24	8.66	31.82
1991	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	1.69	13.73	32.76
1992	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	7.17	31.37
1993	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.72	2.26	14.29
1994	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.29	3.17	17.39
1995	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.20	1.09	4.55	30.43
1996	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.25	3.08	8.70
1997	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.16	0.23	3.86	8.33
1998	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.43	3.60	42.86
1999	0.00	0.32	0.27	0.28	0.97	6.57	37.50
2000	0.00	0.00	0.42	0.42	1.70	8.47	42.19
2001	0.00	0.00	0.30	0.53	2.55	11.94	50.62
2002	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.30	2.49	6.24	34.62
2003	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.92	4.10	36.11
2004	0.00	0.00	0.17	0.00	0.55	1.60	20.48
2005	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	0.37	2.36	11.11
2006	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.37	0.66	16.22
2007	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.36	0.12	16.90
2008	0.00	0.96	0.76	0.73	1.13	4.07	31.43
2009	0.00	0.00	0.19	0.58	0.87	11.22	50.35
2010	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.26	23.08
2011	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.00	1.78	17.05
2012	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.14	30.85
2013	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.91	29.41
2014	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.55	26.25
2015	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.18	2.44	30.99
2016	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	3.77	42.34
2017	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.18	1.15	27.89
2018	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.55	29.37
2019	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.27	0.00	1.35	32.82
Average	0.00	0.03	0.06	0.22	0.85	4.14	25.93
Median	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.55	3.42	27.89
Standard deviation	0.00	0.16	0.15	0.30	0.97	3.31	11.90
Minimum	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.12	0.00
Maximum	0.00	0.96	0.76	1.30	4.29	13.73	50.62
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 19

Summary Of One-Year U.S. Corporate Rating Transitions
	--Rating distribution at year end--
	--Investment-grade--					--Speculative grade--
	Number of ratings on Jan. 1	Started as investment grade (%)	Started as speculative grade* (%)	Defaulted¶ (%)	Rating Withdrawn (%)	Number of ratings on Jan. 1	Started as investment grade§ (%)	Started as speculative grade (%)	Defaulted (%)	Rating Withdrawn (%)
1981	1,003	97.31	1.40	0.00	1.30	316	4.75	89.87	0.63	4.75
1982	1,030	93.69	2.91	0.19	3.20	334	2.69	80.24	4.49	12.57
1983	1,043	94.06	2.21	0.10	3.64	331	3.32	83.08	3.02	10.57
1984	1,091	95.23	2.29	0.18	2.29	357	5.04	86.83	3.36	4.76
1985	1,119	92.76	3.75	0.00	3.49	403	3.97	85.86	4.47	5.71
1986	1,234	89.95	3.73	0.16	6.16	514	3.11	81.91	5.84	9.14
1987	1,226	89.80	3.34	0.00	6.85	661	3.63	79.27	2.87	14.22
1988	1,213	91.34	3.05	0.00	5.61	738	3.25	80.08	3.93	12.74
1989	1,223	92.89	3.03	0.16	3.92	734	5.31	75.20	4.36	15.12
1990	1,239	93.95	2.42	0.16	3.47	680	3.24	75.15	7.94	13.68
1991	1,226	95.68	2.04	0.16	2.12	578	3.11	78.03	10.73	8.13
1992	1,312	96.27	1.30	0.00	2.44	510	6.47	78.24	6.27	9.02
1993	1,412	91.78	1.84	0.00	6.37	540	4.81	77.41	2.41	15.37
1994	1,428	95.66	0.84	0.00	3.50	677	4.14	85.52	2.22	8.12
1995	1,526	94.56	1.38	0.07	4.00	764	3.53	84.82	3.66	7.98
1996	1,589	93.83	0.82	0.00	5.35	807	4.96	80.42	1.86	12.76
1997	1,692	92.79	0.95	0.06	6.21	871	4.36	81.29	2.18	12.17
1998	1,836	91.07	1.47	0.05	7.41	1,044	3.54	84.10	3.26	9.10
1999	1,857	90.85	1.94	0.27	6.95	1,257	1.43	82.18	5.25	11.14
2000	1,832	90.28	2.35	0.33	7.04	1,300	1.92	83.23	7.38	7.46
2001	1,790	91.12	2.57	0.34	5.98	1,261	1.59	78.98	10.63	8.80
2002	1,761	88.47	4.49	0.57	6.47	1,131	1.33	83.55	7.25	7.87
2003	1,635	91.80	2.75	0.00	5.44	1,161	1.38	83.46	5.60	9.56
2004	1,577	93.09	1.65	0.06	5.20	1,187	2.02	84.33	2.44	11.20
2005	1,546	93.92	2.26	0.06	3.75	1,286	1.94	83.51	2.02	12.52
2006	1,523	93.37	1.90	0.00	4.73	1,380	1.67	85.22	1.38	11.74
2007	1,519	91.57	2.90	0.00	5.53	1,469	1.57	83.93	1.02	13.48
2008	1,469	91.22	2.38	0.75	5.65	1,533	1.96	84.15	4.31	9.59
2009	1,439	90.55	3.68	0.35	5.42	1,405	0.93	78.51	11.81	8.75
2010	1,363	95.96	0.81	0.00	3.23	1,297	1.62	86.43	3.47	8.48
2011	1,370	94.82	1.31	0.07	3.80	1,391	1.22	85.84	2.16	10.78
2012	1,378	96.01	0.80	0.00	3.19	1,468	1.50	86.72	2.66	9.13
2013	1,382	96.74	0.72	0.00	2.53	1,552	2.13	84.66	2.19	11.02
2014	1,417	97.39	0.92	0.00	1.69	1,674	0.96	86.74	1.61	10.69
2015	1,470	94.97	0.95	0.00	4.08	1,817	1.10	84.65	2.86	11.39
2016	1,468	92.71	1.91	0.00	5.38	1,764	1.53	82.65	5.22	10.60
2017	1,425	95.23	0.98	0.00	3.79	1,748	0.86	83.75	3.09	12.30
2018	1,410	95.89	0.85	0.00	3.26	1,778	0.90	84.98	2.42	11.70
2019	1,408	95.60	0.92	0.14	3.34	1,896	0.53	86.02	3.11	10.34
Weighted average	55,481	93.29	1.98	0.12	4.62	41,614	2.09	83.31	4.03	10.56
Median		93.69	1.91	0.05	4.00		2.02	83.55	3.26	10.60
Standard deviation		2.31	1.01	0.17	1.62		1.52	3.39	2.68	2.56
Minimum		88.47	0.72	0.00	1.30		0.53	75.15	0.63	4.75
Maximum		97.39	4.49	0.75	7.41		6.47	89.87	11.81	15.37
*Fallen angels that survived to Jan. 1 of the year after they were downgraded. ¶Investment-grade defaulters. §Rising stars. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 20

Static Pool Cumulative Corporate Default Rates Among All U.S. Rated Issuers, 1981-2019 (%)
		--Time horizon (years)--
	Number of issuers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1981	1,319	0.15	1.44	2.20	3.03	3.71	5.16	5.61	6.44	7.05	8.19	9.93	10.39	10.92	10.99	11.22
1982	1,364	1.25	1.98	2.86	3.59	5.06	5.43	6.23	6.74	7.92	9.82	10.34	10.92	11.00	11.22	11.22
1983	1,374	0.80	1.67	2.55	4.22	4.66	5.75	6.26	7.42	9.53	10.12	10.70	10.77	10.99	10.99	11.06
1984	1,448	0.97	2.07	4.01	4.49	5.59	6.35	7.60	9.39	10.01	10.64	10.70	10.91	10.91	11.05	11.05
1985	1,522	1.18	3.22	3.81	5.26	6.18	7.56	9.53	10.12	10.64	10.71	11.04	11.04	11.17	11.17	11.50
1986	1,748	1.83	2.46	3.83	4.75	6.24	8.24	8.92	9.50	9.67	9.95	10.07	10.30	10.41	10.64	11.04
1987	1,887	1.01	2.54	4.08	6.04	8.74	9.91	10.70	10.92	11.29	11.45	11.66	11.76	12.03	12.51	13.62
1988	1,951	1.49	3.23	5.54	8.82	9.99	10.81	11.02	11.53	11.69	11.99	12.20	12.51	13.22	14.25	15.33
1989	1,957	1.74	4.55	8.28	9.56	10.42	10.73	11.19	11.34	11.65	12.06	12.37	13.03	14.10	15.13	15.64
1990	1,919	2.92	6.51	8.08	8.96	9.28	9.80	9.90	10.32	10.84	11.20	12.04	13.13	14.28	14.85	15.01
1991	1,804	3.55	5.27	5.88	6.21	6.82	6.93	7.32	7.82	8.20	8.98	10.20	11.47	12.03	12.25	12.42
1992	1,822	1.76	2.36	2.69	3.35	3.51	3.90	4.39	4.72	5.54	6.70	7.96	8.45	8.67	8.84	9.00
1993	1,952	0.67	1.18	2.20	2.46	2.92	3.43	3.89	4.82	6.15	7.48	7.99	8.20	8.40	8.66	8.81
1994	2,105	0.71	2.04	2.52	3.09	3.61	4.51	5.75	7.32	8.65	9.22	9.50	9.69	9.98	10.12	10.83
1995	2,290	1.27	1.83	2.45	3.10	4.06	5.33	7.38	8.82	9.48	9.78	10.04	10.31	10.44	11.09	12.14
1996	2,396	0.63	1.34	2.25	3.51	4.84	6.84	8.43	9.18	9.52	9.77	10.02	10.18	10.89	11.94	12.15
1997	2,563	0.78	1.95	3.39	5.23	7.53	9.33	10.26	10.61	10.89	11.24	11.43	12.25	13.34	13.46	13.62
1998	2,880	1.22	3.30	5.97	8.96	10.94	12.19	12.78	13.19	13.61	13.82	14.65	15.87	16.01	16.18	16.35
1999	3,114	2.28	5.49	9.31	12.01	13.55	14.26	14.74	15.19	15.41	16.47	17.98	18.24	18.43	18.66	18.79
2000	3,132	3.26	7.57	10.38	12.26	13.22	13.86	14.34	14.59	15.80	17.69	17.94	18.20	18.42	18.65	18.71
2001	3,051	4.59	7.77	10.06	11.08	11.80	12.29	12.55	13.77	15.80	16.06	16.32	16.58	16.88	16.95	17.17
2002	2,892	3.18	5.64	6.78	7.43	7.92	8.20	9.61	11.96	12.24	12.52	12.79	13.11	13.17	13.38	13.76
2003	2,796	2.32	3.47	4.18	4.76	5.04	6.55	9.26	9.62	9.91	10.30	10.66	10.77	10.98	11.37	11.73
2004	2,764	1.09	1.92	2.53	2.89	4.56	7.60	8.07	8.47	8.86	9.19	9.33	9.55	9.99	10.35	10.53
2005	2,832	0.95	1.62	2.12	4.13	7.70	8.37	8.86	9.29	9.64	9.85	10.20	10.66	11.02	11.19	11.55
2006	2,903	0.65	1.21	3.62	7.68	8.58	9.27	9.85	10.27	10.47	10.92	11.47	11.82	12.02	12.37
2007	2,988	0.50	3.11	7.80	9.00	9.67	10.41	10.91	11.21	11.75	12.35	12.72	12.88	13.25
2008	3,002	2.56	7.89	9.39	10.06	10.89	11.36	11.73	12.33	12.92	13.32	13.62	13.96
2009	2,844	6.01	7.70	8.44	9.35	9.81	10.20	10.83	11.53	11.95	12.27	12.59
2010	2,660	1.69	2.78	3.91	4.44	4.96	5.60	6.62	7.18	7.52	7.97
2011	2,761	1.12	2.50	3.22	3.80	4.64	5.90	6.56	6.92	7.35
2012	2,846	1.37	2.39	2.95	3.90	5.41	6.18	6.71	7.20
2013	2,934	1.16	1.87	3.24	5.08	6.00	6.58	7.09
2014	3,091	0.87	2.33	4.59	5.86	6.66	7.34
2015	3,287	1.58	4.17	5.51	6.36	7.24
2016	3,232	2.85	4.27	5.29	6.16
2017	3,173	1.70	2.93	4.16
2018	3,188	1.35	2.82
2019	3,304	1.85
Summary statistics
Marginal average		1.79	1.78	1.60	1.36	1.15	1.00	0.86	0.74	0.67	0.63	0.54	0.45	0.42	0.38	0.38
Cumulative average		1.79	3.54	5.09	6.38	7.45	8.38	9.16	9.83	10.43	11.00	11.48	11.87	12.24	12.57	12.90
Standard deviation		1.19	1.99	2.50	2.79	2.88	2.79	2.69	2.64	2.60	2.55	2.50	2.58	2.64	2.71	2.76
Median		1.35	2.66	4.01	5.24	6.66	7.58	8.92	9.56	10.01	10.67	11.04	11.26	11.17	11.65	12.14
Minimum		0.15	1.18	2.12	2.46	2.92	3.43	3.89	4.72	5.54	6.70	7.96	8.20	8.40	8.66	8.81
Maximum		6.01	7.89	10.38	12.26	13.55	14.26	14.74	15.19	15.80	17.69	17.98	18.24	18.43	18.66	18.79
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 21

Static Pool Cumulative Corporate Default Rates Among U.S. Investment-Grade Rated Issuers, 1981-2019 (%)
		--Time horizon (years)--
	Number of issuers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1981	1,003	0.00	0.40	0.40	0.50	0.70	1.10	1.40	2.19	2.39	3.19	4.29	4.49	4.69	4.69	4.89
1982	1,030	0.19	0.29	0.39	0.58	1.07	1.36	2.14	2.33	3.20	4.37	4.66	4.95	4.95	5.15	5.15
1983	1,043	0.10	0.38	0.48	0.96	1.15	1.73	1.82	2.68	3.84	4.22	4.51	4.51	4.70	4.70	4.70
1984	1,091	0.18	0.27	0.64	0.82	1.28	1.47	2.20	3.21	3.57	3.85	3.85	4.03	4.03	4.12	4.12
1985	1,119	0.00	0.18	0.27	0.89	1.07	1.88	2.95	3.31	3.57	3.57	3.84	3.84	4.02	4.02	4.20
1986	1,234	0.16	0.16	0.57	0.73	1.30	2.27	2.67	2.84	2.84	3.08	3.08	3.24	3.32	3.40	3.73
1987	1,226	0.00	0.16	0.41	0.90	1.88	2.45	2.61	2.61	2.77	2.77	2.94	3.02	3.10	3.26	4.16
1988	1,213	0.00	0.25	0.41	1.07	1.65	1.81	1.81	1.98	1.98	2.14	2.14	2.23	2.39	3.13	4.04
1989	1,223	0.16	0.33	0.65	1.31	1.47	1.47	1.64	1.64	1.64	1.64	1.80	1.96	2.86	3.60	4.01
1990	1,239	0.16	0.40	0.89	1.13	1.13	1.29	1.29	1.29	1.37	1.61	2.02	2.82	3.47	3.87	3.95
1991	1,226	0.16	0.33	0.49	0.49	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.73	1.06	1.47	2.37	3.02	3.34	3.43	3.51
1992	1,312	0.00	0.08	0.08	0.23	0.23	0.23	0.30	0.53	0.84	1.52	2.06	2.36	2.44	2.59	2.82
1993	1,412	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.14	0.21	0.42	0.78	1.20	1.98	2.69	2.97	2.97	3.12	3.26	3.33
1994	1,428	0.00	0.14	0.14	0.28	0.35	0.84	1.19	1.96	2.59	2.94	3.01	3.08	3.22	3.29	3.78
1995	1,526	0.07	0.07	0.13	0.20	0.79	1.11	1.97	2.56	2.88	2.95	3.01	3.15	3.21	3.74	4.19
1996	1,589	0.00	0.06	0.06	0.57	1.01	1.89	2.39	2.71	2.77	2.83	2.96	2.96	3.52	4.09	4.15
1997	1,692	0.06	0.12	0.53	1.00	1.71	2.30	2.66	2.72	2.78	2.96	2.96	3.55	4.08	4.14	4.31
1998	1,836	0.05	0.49	1.03	1.69	2.40	2.83	3.00	3.16	3.27	3.27	3.92	4.63	4.74	4.96	5.17
1999	1,857	0.27	0.75	1.29	1.88	2.37	2.48	2.64	2.80	2.80	3.55	4.47	4.58	4.79	5.06	5.12
2000	1,832	0.33	0.82	1.26	1.80	1.86	2.07	2.24	2.24	3.11	4.09	4.20	4.48	4.69	4.75	4.80
2001	1,790	0.34	0.89	1.34	1.51	1.73	1.90	1.90	2.68	3.80	3.85	4.13	4.41	4.53	4.53	4.64
2002	1,761	0.57	0.97	1.14	1.31	1.36	1.36	2.16	3.18	3.24	3.46	3.75	3.86	3.86	3.98	4.09
2003	1,635	0.00	0.18	0.37	0.43	0.43	1.22	2.32	2.39	2.57	2.69	2.81	2.81	2.94	3.06	3.18
2004	1,577	0.06	0.19	0.25	0.25	1.08	2.09	2.22	2.41	2.54	2.66	2.66	2.79	2.92	2.98	3.04
2005	1,546	0.06	0.13	0.13	1.10	2.07	2.26	2.46	2.59	2.72	2.72	2.85	2.98	2.98	3.04	3.17
2006	1,523	0.00	0.00	0.98	1.64	1.84	2.04	2.10	2.23	2.23	2.30	2.43	2.43	2.43	2.50
2007	1,519	0.00	0.86	1.51	1.78	1.97	2.04	2.17	2.17	2.17	2.30	2.30	2.30	2.37
2008	1,469	0.75	1.23	1.43	1.70	1.77	1.84	1.84	1.84	1.97	1.97	2.04	2.11
2009	1,439	0.35	0.49	0.69	0.76	0.76	0.76	0.76	0.90	0.90	0.97	1.04
2010	1,363	0.00	0.07	0.15	0.15	0.15	0.15	0.29	0.29	0.44	0.59
2011	1,370	0.07	0.15	0.15	0.15	0.15	0.36	0.36	0.51	0.66
2012	1,378	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.22	0.22	0.36	0.51
2013	1,382	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.14	0.29	0.43
2014	1,417	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.14	0.28	0.42
2015	1,470	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.27
2016	1,468	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.27
2017	1,425	0.00	0.00	0.14
2018	1,410	0.00	0.14
2019	1,408	0.14
Summary statistics
Marginal average		0.12	0.19	0.23	0.28	0.30	0.31	0.29	0.28	0.28	0.28	0.26	0.21	0.20	0.20	0.22
Cumulative average		0.12	0.31	0.53	0.82	1.11	1.41	1.70	1.98	2.25	2.52	2.77	2.98	3.17	3.36	3.57
Standard deviation		0.17	0.32	0.45	0.59	0.70	0.77	0.84	0.88	0.93	0.95	0.93	0.88	0.83	0.77	0.67
Median		0.05	0.17	0.40	0.75	1.08	1.47	1.97	2.28	2.59	2.80	2.96	3.05	3.34	3.80	4.12
Minimum		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.15	0.29	0.29	0.44	0.59	1.04	1.96	2.37	2.50	2.82
Maximum		0.75	1.23	1.51	1.88	2.40	2.83	3.00	3.31	3.84	4.37	4.66	4.95	4.95	5.15	5.17
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 22

Static Pool Cumulative Corporate Default Rates Among U.S. Speculative-Grade Rated Issuers, 1981-2019 (%)
		--Time horizon (years)--
	Number of issuers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1981	316	0.63	4.75	7.91	11.08	13.29	18.04	18.99	19.94	21.84	24.05	27.85	29.11	30.70	31.01	31.33
1982	334	4.49	7.19	10.48	12.87	17.37	17.96	18.86	20.36	22.46	26.65	27.84	29.34	29.64	29.94	29.94
1983	331	3.02	5.74	9.06	14.50	15.71	18.43	20.24	22.36	27.49	28.70	30.21	30.51	30.82	30.82	31.12
1984	357	3.36	7.56	14.29	15.69	18.77	21.29	24.09	28.29	29.69	31.37	31.65	31.93	31.93	32.21	32.21
1985	403	4.47	11.66	13.65	17.37	20.35	23.33	27.79	29.03	30.27	30.52	31.02	31.02	31.02	31.02	31.76
1986	514	5.84	7.98	11.67	14.40	18.09	22.57	23.93	25.49	26.07	26.46	26.85	27.24	27.43	28.02	28.60
1987	661	2.87	6.96	10.89	15.58	21.48	23.75	25.72	26.32	27.08	27.53	27.84	27.99	28.59	29.65	31.16
1988	738	3.93	8.13	13.96	21.54	23.71	25.61	26.15	27.24	27.64	28.18	28.73	29.40	31.03	32.52	33.88
1989	734	4.36	11.58	20.98	23.30	25.34	26.16	27.11	27.52	28.34	29.43	29.97	31.47	32.83	34.33	35.01
1990	680	7.94	17.65	21.18	23.24	24.12	25.29	25.59	26.76	28.09	28.68	30.29	31.91	33.97	34.85	35.15
1991	578	10.73	15.74	17.30	18.34	19.90	20.24	21.45	22.84	23.36	24.91	26.82	29.41	30.45	30.97	31.31
1992	510	6.27	8.24	9.41	11.37	11.96	13.33	14.90	15.49	17.65	20.00	23.14	24.12	24.71	24.90	24.90
1993	540	2.41	4.26	7.59	8.52	10.00	11.30	12.04	14.26	17.04	20.00	21.11	21.85	22.22	22.78	23.15
1994	677	2.22	6.06	7.53	9.01	10.49	12.26	15.36	18.61	21.42	22.45	23.19	23.63	24.22	24.52	25.70
1995	764	3.66	5.37	7.07	8.90	10.60	13.74	18.19	21.34	22.64	23.43	24.08	24.61	24.87	25.79	28.01
1996	807	1.86	3.84	6.57	9.29	12.39	16.60	20.32	21.93	22.80	23.42	23.92	24.41	25.40	27.39	27.88
1997	871	2.18	5.51	8.96	13.43	18.83	22.96	25.03	25.95	26.64	27.32	27.90	29.16	31.34	31.57	31.69
1998	1,044	3.26	8.24	14.66	21.74	25.96	28.64	29.98	30.84	31.80	32.38	33.52	35.63	35.82	35.92	36.02
1999	1,257	5.25	12.49	21.16	26.97	30.07	31.66	32.62	33.49	34.05	35.56	37.95	38.42	38.58	38.74	38.98
2000	1,300	7.38	17.08	23.23	27.00	29.23	30.46	31.38	32.00	33.69	36.85	37.31	37.54	37.77	38.23	38.31
2001	1,261	10.63	17.53	22.44	24.66	26.09	27.04	27.68	29.50	32.83	33.39	33.62	33.86	34.42	34.58	34.97
2002	1,131	7.25	12.91	15.56	16.98	18.13	18.83	21.22	25.64	26.26	26.61	26.88	27.50	27.67	28.03	28.82
2003	1,161	5.60	8.10	9.56	10.85	11.54	14.04	19.04	19.81	20.24	21.02	21.71	21.96	22.31	23.08	23.77
2004	1,187	2.44	4.21	5.56	6.40	9.18	14.91	15.84	16.51	17.27	17.86	18.20	18.53	19.38	20.13	20.47
2005	1,286	2.02	3.42	4.51	7.78	14.46	15.71	16.56	17.34	17.96	18.43	19.05	19.91	20.68	21.00	21.62
2006	1,380	1.38	2.54	6.52	14.35	16.01	17.25	18.41	19.13	19.57	20.43	21.45	22.17	22.61	23.26
2007	1,469	1.02	5.45	14.30	16.47	17.63	19.06	19.95	20.56	21.65	22.74	23.49	23.83	24.51
2008	1,533	4.31	14.29	17.03	18.07	19.63	20.48	21.20	22.37	23.42	24.20	24.72	25.31
2009	1,405	11.81	15.09	16.37	18.15	19.07	19.86	21.14	22.42	23.27	23.84	24.41
2010	1,297	3.47	5.63	7.86	8.94	10.02	11.33	13.26	14.42	14.96	15.73
2011	1,391	2.16	4.82	6.25	7.40	9.06	11.36	12.65	13.23	13.95
2012	1,468	2.66	4.63	5.72	7.56	10.29	11.78	12.67	13.49
2013	1,552	2.19	3.54	6.12	9.47	11.21	12.18	13.02
2014	1,674	1.61	4.30	8.36	10.69	12.07	13.20
2015	1,817	2.86	7.54	9.96	11.39	12.88
2016	1,764	5.22	7.82	9.58	11.05
2017	1,748	3.09	5.32	7.44
2018	1,778	2.42	4.95
2019	1,896	3.11
Summary statistics
Marginal average		4.03	4.04	3.67	3.07	2.58	2.21	1.90	1.61	1.46	1.35	1.15	0.98	0.92	0.82	0.79
Cumulative average		4.03	7.91	11.28	14.01	16.23	18.08	19.64	20.93	22.08	23.14	24.02	24.76	25.45	26.06	26.64
Standard deviation		2.68	4.35	5.34	5.85	6.02	5.88	5.71	5.62	5.48	5.23	4.97	5.11	5.20	5.15	4.98
Median		3.26	7.07	9.58	13.89	17.37	18.63	20.32	22.37	23.36	25.69	26.88	28.55	29.64	30.38	31.16
Minimum		0.63	2.54	4.51	6.40	9.06	11.30	12.04	13.23	13.95	15.73	18.20	18.53	19.38	20.13	20.47
Maximum		11.81	17.65	23.23	27.00	30.07	31.66	32.62	33.49	34.05	36.85	37.95	38.42	38.58	38.74	38.98
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 23

Initial-To-Last Transition Rates By Rating Modifier For U.S. Nonfinancials, 1981-2019 (%)
From/to	Number of issuers	AAA	AA+	AA	AA-	A+	A	A-	BBB+	BBB	BBB-	BB+	BB	BB-	B+	B	B-	CCC/C	D	NR
AAA	93	1.08	1.08	2.15	2.15	3.23	3.23	2.15	1.08	1.08	1.08	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.08	0.00	0.00	3.23	77.42
AA+	27	0.00	0.00	0.00	7.41	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.70	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.70	0.00	3.70	3.70	77.78
AA	200	0.50	0.50	0.00	2.50	2.50	4.50	10.50	4.50	2.50	0.50	1.00	0.50	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.50	4.00	65.50
AA-	92	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.26	2.17	4.35	5.43	7.61	5.43	3.26	1.09	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.17	65.22
A+	179	0.00	0.00	1.12	1.68	5.59	5.03	7.82	3.91	3.35	1.12	1.68	1.68	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	6.15	60.34
A	479	0.00	0.21	0.42	0.00	1.25	3.76	7.52	4.38	6.47	2.30	0.63	0.42	0.21	0.42	0.84	0.21	0.00	7.31	63.67
A-	214	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.47	4.67	9.35	7.01	8.41	2.34	1.87	0.47	0.93	0.00	0.47	0.00	0.47	7.48	56.07
BBB+	229	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.62	3.49	8.30	12.66	8.73	2.18	1.31	1.31	0.00	0.44	0.00	0.87	0.00	9.17	48.91
BBB	474	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.21	0.21	1.69	4.64	5.91	11.18	2.32	1.05	1.05	1.69	0.21	0.21	0.00	0.21	10.97	58.44
BBB-	416	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.48	0.72	2.40	4.33	9.86	9.13	2.64	2.40	0.72	0.48	1.20	0.24	0.00	10.10	55.29
BB+	266	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.38	1.50	0.38	2.26	3.01	6.77	10.53	4.14	2.26	0.38	3.01	0.38	0.00	12.03	53.01
BB	515	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.78	0.39	1.94	2.52	3.50	10.10	3.69	2.52	0.97	0.78	0.39	17.86	54.17
BB-	1,030	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.29	1.17	1.07	2.62	4.17	6.89	2.14	1.26	0.97	1.17	26.99	50.87
B+	1,887	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.05	0.26	0.37	0.32	0.48	1.27	2.17	5.78	2.65	1.22	0.90	28.56	55.86
B	2,148	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.09	0.00	0.28	0.23	0.65	0.98	2.42	16.48	7.03	2.61	19.65	49.49
B-	798	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	0.00	0.13	0.63	0.63	0.50	1.25	2.63	23.56	2.76	27.19	40.60
CCC/C	377	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.53	0.27	0.27	0.00	0.53	0.80	1.06	2.39	2.12	9.02	49.60	33.42
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 24

Initial-To-Last Transition Rates By Rating Modifier For U.S. Financials, 1981-2019 (%)
From/to	Number of issuers	AAA	AA+	AA	AA-	A+	A	A-	BBB+	BBB	BBB-	BB+	BB	BB-	B+	B	B-	CCC/C	D	NR
AAA	149	0.00	17.45	10.07	7.38	6.71	3.36	2.01	0.00	0.67	0.00	0.67	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.68	48.99
AA+	45	0.00	0.00	2.22	2.22	22.22	8.89	2.22	4.44	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.22	55.56
AA	159	0.00	0.63	3.77	7.55	5.66	5.03	5.03	3.77	0.63	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	6.92	61.01
AA-	122	0.00	0.00	0.82	13.93	5.74	7.38	5.74	2.46	0.82	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.28	59.84
A+	195	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.10	15.38	5.64	3.59	2.05	1.03	0.00	0.51	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.56	65.13
A	229	0.00	0.00	1.75	0.44	9.17	9.61	7.42	3.06	1.31	0.87	0.44	0.00	0.44	0.00	0.44	0.44	0.00	3.93	60.70
A-	196	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.59	7.14	14.80	7.65	4.08	1.02	0.51	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.08	56.12
BBB+	151	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.31	2.65	3.97	13.91	3.97	1.99	0.00	0.00	1.32	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	5.30	63.58
BBB	180	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	0.00	1.67	5.00	3.89	13.33	4.44	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	0.00	0.00	6.67	63.89
BBB-	177	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.56	0.00	0.00	2.26	3.95	7.91	15.25	1.13	1.69	1.13	0.00	0.56	0.00	0.00	9.04	56.50
BB+	66	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.55	3.03	3.03	15.15	3.03	0.00	0.00	1.52	1.52	0.00	16.67	51.52
BB	80	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.25	1.25	5.00	1.25	1.25	10.00	3.75	1.25	0.00	0.00	0.00	15.00	60.00
BB-	87	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.15	1.15	1.15	2.30	10.34	16.09	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	17.24	50.57
B+	104	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.96	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.92	2.88	0.00	2.88	0.96	3.85	13.46	7.69	2.88	0.00	13.46	49.04
B	108	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.93	0.00	0.00	0.93	0.93	0.00	0.00	0.93	0.93	1.85	2.78	24.07	7.41	0.00	21.30	37.96
B-	38	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.63	0.00	10.53	23.68	0.00	10.53	52.63
CCC/C	29	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.45	0.00	0.00	0.00	6.90	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	3.45	0.00	3.45	44.83	37.93
Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 25

Average Multi-Year U.S. Region Corporate Transition Matrices, 1981-2019--All Financials (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
One year
AAA	88.19	8.86	0.33	0.07	0.13	0.07	0.07	0.00	2.30
	(13.42)	(12.96)	(1.38)	(0.37)	(0.60)	(0.37)	(0.37)	(0.00)	(2.52)
AA	0.55	87.61	7.37	0.38	0.04	0.04	0.06	0.06	3.89
	(0.73)	(7.78)	(6.31)	(0.83)	(0.16)	(0.14)	(0.26)	(0.24)	(2.26)
A	0.02	2.32	88.76	3.54	0.27	0.11	0.02	0.12	4.84
	(0.18)	(1.97)	(4.81)	(3.07)	(0.65)	(0.28)	(0.09)	(0.31)	(2.70)
BBB	0.00	0.29	4.11	84.65	2.83	0.61	0.22	0.37	6.92
	(0.00)	(0.70)	(2.44)	(6.00)	(2.82)	(1.20)	(0.40)	(0.82)	(2.88)
BB	0.00	0.26	0.39	7.64	72.83	5.97	1.28	1.03	10.60
	(0.00)	(0.76)	(1.05)	(6.62)	(9.90)	(4.64)	(2.51)	(1.71)	(5.98)
B	0.00	0.08	0.24	0.64	6.42	74.24	4.74	3.29	10.35
	(0.00)	(0.52)	(1.12)	(1.52)	(5.60)	(11.53)	(5.19)	(4.78)	(6.77)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.53	12.63	38.89	29.29	16.67
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(6.14)	(14.85)	(22.50)	(25.63)	(15.38)
Three year
AAA	67.65	22.57	1.38	0.33	0.20	0.13	0.20	0.26	7.28
	(21.02)	(21.66)	(2.58)	(1.50)	(0.67)	(0.51)	(0.60)	(0.83)	(4.72)
AA	1.20	67.83	17.03	1.66	0.20	0.29	0.04	0.29	11.46
	(1.24)	(13.13)	(9.13)	(2.09)	(0.45)	(0.65)	(0.17)	(0.58)	(4.80)
A	0.05	5.47	71.20	7.02	1.06	0.29	0.18	0.62	14.12
	(0.22)	(3.64)	(8.43)	(3.21)	(1.51)	(0.66)	(0.34)	(0.75)	(5.54)
BBB	0.00	0.89	9.42	62.99	3.88	1.33	0.47	1.80	19.22
	(0.00)	(1.47)	(4.42)	(9.11)	(2.60)	(1.50)	(0.93)	(1.99)	(5.22)
BB	0.00	0.35	1.62	15.88	40.37	8.89	1.62	4.94	26.32
	(0.00)	(0.93)	(2.39)	(9.51)	(13.36)	(5.22)	(2.71)	(6.01)	(9.88)
B	0.00	0.00	0.83	3.14	12.20	43.44	3.42	11.83	25.14
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(1.77)	(4.12)	(7.76)	(13.80)	(3.79)	(10.93)	(9.51)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.54	1.08	2.15	16.13	10.75	37.63	31.72
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(5.23)	(4.16)	(5.92)	(19.51)	(13.97)	(24.89)	(21.81)
10 year
AAA	25.93	38.73	7.67	1.60	0.13	0.47	0.13	1.13	24.20
	(18.31)	(23.20)	(6.42)	(3.53)	(0.44)	(0.97)	(0.48)	(1.38)	(6.01)
AA	1.29	30.17	29.47	4.13	0.54	0.54	0.05	1.73	32.08
	(1.32)	(8.46)	(7.50)	(1.80)	(0.66)	(0.78)	(0.16)	(1.85)	(5.49)
A	0.15	7.44	39.79	9.53	1.79	0.48	0.25	2.70	37.87
	(0.47)	(3.11)	(6.88)	(3.11)	(1.14)	(0.54)	(0.41)	(1.38)	(6.14)
BBB	0.00	2.22	10.85	29.20	2.28	1.30	0.32	6.54	47.29
	(0.00)	(3.21)	(2.44)	(9.10)	(1.26)	(0.82)	(0.53)	(2.34)	(7.17)
BB	0.00	0.10	3.65	15.07	8.73	4.03	0.19	15.45	52.78
	(0.00)	(0.56)	(4.36)	(5.23)	(4.81)	(3.56)	(0.77)	(10.53)	(9.43)
B	0.00	0.00	2.76	8.29	7.15	10.24	0.49	23.90	47.15
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(3.99)	(8.68)	(5.76)	(7.72)	(2.62)	(13.57)	(13.53)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.71	1.42	1.42	1.42	0.00	44.68	50.35
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(6.03)	(4.35)	(3.70)	(4.04)	(0.00)	(24.59)	(24.92)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 26

Average Multi-Year U.S. Region Corporate Transition Matrices, 1981-2019--Insurance (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
One year
AAA	88.99	8.92	0.27	0.00	0.09	0.09	0.09	0.00	1.55
	(13.00)	(12.33)	(1.63)	(0.00)	(0.43)	(0.54)	(0.54)	(0.00)	(2.59)
AA	0.70	88.08	6.90	0.35	0.06	0.06	0.10	0.06	3.67
	(1.28)	(7.60)	(5.71)	(0.93)	(0.24)	(0.20)	(0.64)	(0.22)	(2.53)
A	0.02	2.50	89.55	2.92	0.25	0.11	0.02	0.15	4.48
	(0.11)	(2.72)	(5.21)	(2.77)	(0.65)	(0.37)	(0.10)	(0.32)	(2.44)
BBB	0.00	0.20	4.98	84.10	2.87	0.50	0.45	0.25	6.64
	(0.00)	(0.97)	(3.69)	(6.80)	(3.40)	(1.49)	(1.01)	(0.94)	(3.99)
BB	0.00	0.17	0.51	9.86	71.77	4.42	1.53	1.02	10.71
	(0.00)	(1.25)	(2.10)	(12.02)	(13.75)	(5.52)	(3.92)	(2.75)	(7.98)
B	0.00	0.20	0.40	0.60	6.43	78.51	2.61	2.01	9.24
	(0.00)	(1.29)	(2.90)	(2.80)	(9.49)	(13.11)	(4.71)	(5.03)	(7.33)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.99	13.43	38.81	28.36	16.42
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(12.08)	(25.40)	(32.91)	(30.72)	(25.21)
Three year
AAA	68.79	23.02	1.46	0.00	0.18	0.18	0.27	0.36	5.73
	(19.43)	(19.16)	(2.41)	(0.00)	(0.69)	(0.76)	(0.85)	(1.12)	(6.38)
AA	1.62	69.52	15.85	1.65	0.27	0.34	0.07	0.30	10.40
	(2.50)	(12.54)	(7.74)	(2.05)	(0.67)	(0.88)	(0.26)	(0.63)	(5.05)
A	0.07	5.92	73.40	5.48	0.98	0.21	0.21	0.66	13.07
	(0.19)	(5.36)	(10.22)	(3.39)	(1.62)	(0.86)	(0.42)	(1.15)	(5.00)
BBB	0.00	0.66	11.03	63.30	3.71	1.20	0.66	1.53	17.91
	(0.00)	(2.08)	(5.16)	(10.14)	(4.05)	(1.32)	(1.65)	(2.49)	(4.55)
BB	0.00	0.18	2.51	18.28	41.76	6.09	1.61	3.58	25.99
	(0.00)	(1.28)	(5.08)	(14.39)	(17.58)	(5.57)	(4.37)	(5.48)	(12.51)
B	0.00	0.00	2.22	3.94	12.32	48.77	1.23	7.64	23.89
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(5.85)	(8.79)	(12.29)	(16.66)	(2.59)	(9.33)	(14.40)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	1.52	3.03	1.52	21.21	13.64	36.36	22.73
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(12.47)	(12.18)	(8.75)	(28.64)	(21.78)	(32.21)	(28.99)
10 year
AAA	27.20	37.73	9.25	1.37	0.18	0.64	0.18	1.56	21.89
	(18.07)	(17.18)	(7.44)	(2.83)	(0.61)	(1.42)	(0.69)	(1.77)	(9.99)
AA	1.65	33.47	27.87	4.49	0.82	0.82	0.08	1.93	28.86
	(2.07)	(9.69)	(5.69)	(2.90)	(1.02)	(1.07)	(0.22)	(1.76)	(7.20)
A	0.30	8.52	42.71	7.23	1.86	0.50	0.46	2.88	35.54
	(1.49)	(6.03)	(10.32)	(2.92)	(2.09)	(0.58)	(0.66)	(1.75)	(7.58)
BBB	0.00	2.15	13.40	35.90	2.23	0.83	0.25	5.38	39.87
	(0.00)	(5.35)	(5.73)	(7.22)	(2.96)	(0.72)	(0.88)	(6.06)	(3.74)
BB	0.00	0.24	5.70	18.29	11.88	3.56	0.00	15.91	44.42
	(0.00)	(1.47)	(8.42)	(9.47)	(9.46)	(4.16)	(0.00)	(15.66)	(15.94)
B	0.00	0.00	6.33	13.57	9.05	10.41	0.90	15.84	43.89
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(10.94)	(18.83)	(13.10)	(10.30)	(5.85)	(11.90)	(19.33)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	1.85	0.00	1.85	0.00	0.00	53.70	42.59
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(13.81)	(0.00)	(5.94)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(31.98)	(32.51)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 27

Average Multi-Year U.S. Region Corporate Transition Matrices, 1981-2019--Financial Institutions (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
One year
AAA	86.12	8.71	0.47	0.24	0.24	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.24
	(21.68)	(19.85)	(1.88)	(2.00)	(2.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(6.68)
AA	0.25	86.67	8.28	0.44	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.06	4.30
	(0.79)	(10.61)	(8.85)	(1.13)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.30)	(3.82)
A	0.03	2.07	87.74	4.34	0.30	0.11	0.03	0.08	5.31
	(0.30)	(2.63)	(7.37)	(5.39)	(1.02)	(0.30)	(0.16)	(0.52)	(4.34)
BBB	0.00	0.34	3.52	85.03	2.80	0.68	0.07	0.44	7.11
	(0.00)	(0.91)	(3.06)	(7.42)	(3.69)	(1.63)	(0.35)	(1.25)	(3.42)
BB	0.00	0.31	0.31	6.30	73.48	6.91	1.14	1.03	10.53
	(0.00)	(1.06)	(1.41)	(6.00)	(11.09)	(6.90)	(2.56)	(2.40)	(7.43)
B	0.00	0.00	0.13	0.67	6.42	71.39	6.15	4.14	11.10
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(1.06)	(1.89)	(6.93)	(13.63)	(6.93)	(6.79)	(9.14)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.29	12.21	38.93	29.77	16.79
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(6.92)	(16.29)	(26.31)	(26.18)	(20.07)
Three year
AAA	64.71	21.41	1.18	1.18	0.24	0.00	0.00	0.00	11.29
	(32.34)	(30.58)	(4.11)	(3.96)	(1.40)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(8.83)
AA	0.39	64.59	19.30	1.69	0.06	0.19	0.00	0.26	13.52
	(0.87)	(17.46)	(12.92)	(2.94)	(0.42)	(0.67)	(0.00)	(0.65)	(8.03)
A	0.03	4.91	68.49	8.90	1.15	0.39	0.14	0.56	15.42
	(0.33)	(4.36)	(10.63)	(6.32)	(2.14)	(0.79)	(0.38)	(1.12)	(7.93)
BBB	0.00	1.05	8.32	62.78	3.99	1.42	0.34	1.98	20.12
	(0.00)	(1.78)	(5.44)	(10.98)	(3.58)	(2.41)	(1.12)	(3.15)	(6.89)
BB	0.00	0.47	1.05	14.32	39.46	10.71	1.63	5.82	26.54
	(0.00)	(1.43)	(2.29)	(9.26)	(14.39)	(8.09)	(3.56)	(8.33)	(12.79)
B	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.66	12.13	40.24	4.73	14.35	25.89
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(3.86)	(10.65)	(15.88)	(5.60)	(14.58)	(11.61)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.50	13.33	9.17	38.33	36.67
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(7.20)	(18.72)	(19.27)	(24.83)	(24.17)
10 year
AAA	22.55	41.42	3.43	2.21	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	30.39
	(24.66)	(39.70)	(7.83)	(6.09)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(22.46)
AA	0.63	23.91	32.50	3.44	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.33	38.20
	(1.09)	(10.45)	(12.97)	(3.40)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(2.91)	(10.21)
A	0.00	6.35	36.84	11.85	1.71	0.47	0.03	2.52	40.23
	(0.00)	(4.10)	(6.48)	(8.35)	(2.15)	(0.80)	(0.17)	(2.16)	(7.81)
BBB	0.00	2.27	9.27	25.03	2.32	1.60	0.36	7.26	51.91
	(0.00)	(2.85)	(3.39)	(10.10)	(1.69)	(1.27)	(0.75)	(3.22)	(9.88)
BB	0.00	0.00	2.25	12.88	6.60	4.35	0.32	15.14	58.45
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(3.12)	(6.40)	(4.17)	(5.14)	(1.27)	(13.32)	(14.22)
B	0.00	0.00	0.76	5.33	6.09	10.15	0.25	28.43	48.98
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(2.41)	(6.95)	(7.31)	(9.62)	(1.22)	(18.97)	(15.75)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.00	2.30	1.15	2.30	0.00	39.08	55.17
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(6.92)	(3.97)	(7.65)	(0.00)	(22.51)	(22.66)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 28

Average Multi-Year U.S. Region Corporate Transition Matrices, 1981-2019--Nonfinancials (%)
From/to	AAA	AA	A	BBB	BB	B	CCC/C	D	NR
One year
AAA	85.97	8.24	1.00	0.00	0.22	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.57
	(9.66)	(9.12)	(2.03)	(0.00)	(0.66)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(5.99)
AA	0.47	86.83	7.40	0.77	0.12	0.16	0.00	0.00	4.25
	(0.66)	(6.92)	(4.57)	(1.17)	(0.32)	(0.42)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(3.33)
A	0.05	1.28	87.89	6.36	0.42	0.17	0.03	0.04	3.75
	(0.14)	(1.41)	(4.68)	(2.80)	(0.61)	(0.44)	(0.14)	(0.11)	(2.01)
BBB	0.01	0.06	3.31	86.99	3.84	0.55	0.07	0.16	5.01
	(0.06)	(0.14)	(2.13)	(5.12)	(1.88)	(0.85)	(0.15)	(0.32)	(2.11)
BB	0.02	0.02	0.15	4.42	78.10	7.62	0.48	0.69	8.50
	(0.09)	(0.11)	(0.30)	(2.23)	(5.54)	(4.00)	(0.52)	(0.91)	(2.76)
B	0.00	0.03	0.09	0.15	4.30	75.73	4.64	3.53	11.52
	(0.00)	(0.10)	(0.24)	(0.24)	(2.04)	(4.32)	(2.41)	(3.30)	(2.40)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.17	0.25	0.51	11.64	44.50	29.13	13.80
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.59)	(0.85)	(1.00)	(7.75)	(8.47)	(11.07)	(5.35)
Three year
AAA	64.54	17.11	4.25	0.45	0.56	0.11	0.00	0.00	12.98
	(12.58)	(11.96)	(3.66)	(1.74)	(1.17)	(0.42)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(9.71)
AA	1.02	66.35	17.23	2.75	0.64	0.38	0.02	0.05	11.56
	(0.94)	(11.97)	(7.15)	(2.36)	(0.80)	(0.71)	(0.10)	(0.14)	(6.18)
A	0.10	3.07	68.98	14.18	1.67	0.68	0.07	0.17	11.07
	(0.14)	(2.91)	(7.75)	(3.95)	(1.30)	(0.96)	(0.16)	(0.28)	(3.48)
BBB	0.04	0.19	8.01	67.59	7.61	2.10	0.21	0.69	13.56
	(0.10)	(0.32)	(3.99)	(9.85)	(2.81)	(1.69)	(0.30)	(0.77)	(4.60)
BB	0.02	0.05	0.53	10.08	48.33	13.26	1.25	4.20	22.27
	(0.08)	(0.17)	(0.80)	(3.89)	(8.70)	(3.99)	(0.85)	(3.56)	(4.70)
B	0.01	0.04	0.22	0.61	9.18	42.65	5.07	12.84	29.39
	(0.06)	(0.13)	(0.48)	(0.82)	(2.97)	(5.94)	(2.17)	(7.33)	(5.43)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.14	0.71	1.56	14.36	10.58	46.01	26.64
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.46)	(1.32)	(2.17)	(7.12)	(7.16)	(12.86)	(8.54)
10 year
AAA	26.67	25.06	9.66	3.56	0.34	0.00	0.00	0.34	34.37
	(7.87)	(9.18)	(3.54)	(3.95)	(0.90)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.70)	(14.33)
AA	1.50	24.86	28.61	9.36	1.65	0.52	0.02	0.50	32.98
	(1.00)	(9.93)	(4.51)	(4.19)	(1.31)	(0.64)	(0.12)	(0.61)	(6.41)
A	0.13	3.61	36.24	21.89	3.61	1.47	0.15	1.53	31.36
	(0.16)	(2.80)	(7.27)	(4.34)	(1.18)	(0.89)	(0.26)	(1.01)	(4.31)
BBB	0.02	0.36	10.86	37.25	8.18	3.01	0.17	4.30	35.85
	(0.12)	(0.32)	(4.94)	(8.83)	(1.51)	(1.61)	(0.24)	(2.21)	(7.02)
BB	0.02	0.09	1.51	11.04	16.68	9.13	0.85	15.98	44.71
	(0.09)	(0.18)	(1.06)	(3.56)	(5.38)	(3.37)	(0.50)	(5.38)	(4.34)
B	0.00	0.04	0.31	2.05	6.77	9.38	1.01	29.70	50.75
	(0.00)	(0.09)	(0.66)	(1.59)	(1.84)	(3.13)	(0.60)	(7.75)	(5.09)
CCC/C	0.00	0.00	0.13	0.61	2.69	2.69	0.27	57.87	35.73
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.44)	(1.13)	(2.63)	(2.45)	(0.71)	(11.30)	(9.51)
Numbers in parentheses are weighted standard deviations, weighted by the issuer base. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Appendix III: Gini Methodology

To measure relative ratings performance, we utilize the Lorenz curve as a graphical representation of the proportionality of a distribution, and we summarize this via the Gini coefficient. For this study, the Lorenz curve is plotted with the X axis showing the cumulative share of issuers, arranged by rating, while the Y axis represents the cumulative share of defaulters, also arranged by rating. On both axes, the observations are ordered from the low end of the ratings scale ('CCC'/'C') to the high end ('AAA'). As an example, if 'CCC'/'C' rated entities made up 10% of the total population of issuers at the start of the timeframe examined (the X axis) and 50% of the defaulters (the Y axis), then the coordinate (10, 50) would be the first point on the curve. If S&P Global Ratings' corporate ratings only randomly approximated default risk, the Lorenz curve would fall along the diagonal. Its Gini coefficient, which is a summary statistic of the Lorenz curve, would thus be zero. If corporate ratings were perfectly rank ordered so that all defaults occurred only among the lowest-rated entities, the curve would capture all of the area above the diagonal on the graph (the ideal curve), and its Gini coefficient would be 1 (see Chart 13) The procedure for calculating the Gini coefficients is illustrated in Chart 13: Area B is bounded by the random curve and the Lorenz curve, while Area A is bounded by the Lorenz curve and the ideal curve. The Gini coefficient is defined as Area B divided by the total of Area A plus Area B. In other words, the Gini coefficient captures the extent to which actual ratings accuracy diverges from the random scenario and aspires to the ideal scenario.

Appendix IV: 2019 Defaults In Profile

In 2019, 76 issuers (including three confidential issuers) defaulted on US$147.9 billion of debt (two issuers defaulted twice). This appendix provides summaries of the events leading up to each default and, in some cases, events following the default. We also include the defaulting instruments for each issuer that S&P Global Ratings rates.

Ultra Petroleum Corp.

• US$400 million revolver bank loan due Jan. 12, 2022
• US$500 million 7.125% senior notes due 2025
• US$700 million 6.875% senior notes due 2022
• US$975 million RBL term bank loan due April 12, 2024

On Jan. 2, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Colorado-based oil and gas exploration and production company Ultra Petroleum Corp. to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CC' following the closure of the company's announced exchange agreement involving its 6.875% notes due 2022 and 7.125% notes due 2025. We view the exchange as a selective default because investors received less value than the original principal amount outstanding on the securities.

On March 21, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on Ultra Petroleum Corp. to 'CCC+' from 'SD' following the company's completion of several debt exchanges. The outlook was negative, reflecting our view that Ultra remained vulnerable and dependent on favorable business and financial conditions to meet its financial commitments.

On Sept. 25, 2019, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Ultra Petroleum to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+'. The company amended its credit agreement, announced another reduction in its borrowing base, and suspended drilling activity in response to unfavorable natural gas pricing. The company's amended credit facility reduced revolver commitments to $200 million (from $325 million), with a step-down to $120 million by February 2020. The amendment also removed all financial maintenance covenants and established maximum capital expenditure thresholds, including a $20 million annualized spend beginning in 2020. These developments showed heightened restructuring risk and limited financial flexibility going forward, in our view. The negative outlook reflected our belief that Ultra's capital structure was unsustainable and that the company might attempt additional debt exchanges or repurchases over the next six months.

Table 29

Ultra Petroleum Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
25-Sep-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
21-Mar-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
02-Jan-2019	SD
18-Oct-2018	CC/Negative/--
14-Sep-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
17-May-2018	B/Negative/--
16-Mar-2017	B+/Stable/--
05-May-2016	NR
04-Apr-2016	D
03-Mar-2016	CC/Negative/--
01-Feb-2016	CCC-/Negative/--
02-Oct-2015	B+/Negative/--
30-Apr-2015	BB/Negative/--
02-Dec-2013	BB/Stable/--

API Heat Transfer Co.

• US$14.4 million revolver bank loan due May 3, 2019
• US$265 million term bank loan due May 3, 2019

On Jan. 15, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New York-based industrial heat transfer equipment manufacturer API Heat Transfer Co. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' following the company's completion of a restructuring, whereby it converted its outstanding debt into equity interest in the company and new debt. We view this transaction as distressed because the first-lien noteholders received less value than the original principal amount outstanding on the securities.

Table 30

API Heat Transfer Co.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
15-Jan-2019	SD
10-Aug-2018	CCC-/Negative/--
30-Nov-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
19-Oct-2015	B-/Stable/--
23-Apr-2013	B/Stable/--

Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

• US$3 billion 6.05% senior notes due March 1, 2034
• US$950 million 5.80% senior notes due March 1, 2037
• US$5 million 6.05% notes series 2004 due March 1, 2034
• US$400 million 6.35% notes due Feb. 15, 2038
• US$550 million 6.25% senior notes due March 1, 2039
• US$800 million 5.40% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2040
• US$800 million 3.50% senior notes due Oct. 1, 2020
• US$300 million 4.25% notes due May 15, 2021
• US$250 million 3.25% senior notes due Sept. 15, 2021
• US$250 million 4.50% senior notes due Dec. 12, 2041
• US$400 million 4.45% notes due April 15, 2042
• US$350 million 3.75% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2042
• US$400 million 2.45% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2022
• US$375 million 3.25% senior unsecured notes due June 15, 2023
• US$375 million 4.60% senior unsecured notes due June 15, 2043
• US$500 million 5.125% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2043
• US$300 million 3.85% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2023
• US$675 million 4.75% notes due Feb. 15, 2044
• US$450 million 3.75% notes due Feb. 15, 2024
• US$350 million 3.40% notes due Aug. 15, 2024
• US$500 million 4.30% notes due March 15, 2045
• US$400 million 3.50% notes due June 15, 2025
• US$100 million 4.30% notes due March 15, 2045
• US$450 million 4.25% senior notes due March 15, 2046
• US$200 million 3.50% senior notes due June 15, 2025
• US$600 million 2.95% senior notes due March 1, 2026
• US$400 million 4.00% senior notes due Dec. 1, 2046
• US$400 million 3.30% notes due March 15, 2027
• US$200 million 4.00% notes due Dec. 1, 2046
• US$1.15 billion 3.30% notes due Dec. 1, 2027
• US$850 million 3.95% notes due Dec. 1, 2047
• US$300 million 4.65% callable notes due Aug. 1, 2028
• US$500 million 4.25% callable notes due Aug. 1, 2023
• US$50.50 million 5.8% senior notes due March 1, 2037
• US$500 million senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2023
• US$300 million senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2028
• US$3 billion senior unsecured bank loan due April 27, 2022
• US$250 million unsecured bank loan due Feb. 22, 2019

On Jan. 16, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on California-based regulated electric and gas utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to 'D' from 'CC'. The company missed the $21.6 million interest payment on its $800 million 5.4% senior notes maturing on Jan. 15, 2040. We did not expect the company to make this payment during the 30-day grace period, given its announcement that it expected to file for bankruptcy protection and commence a reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Jan. 29, 2019.

Reports said that the company and an ad hoc group of noteholders led by Elliott Management and PIMCO were engaged in negotiations to settle and reach a consensus on the company's proposed reorganization plan. The bankruptcy court overseeing the Chapter 11 proceedings of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Dec. 17 approved the company's $13.5 billion settlement with holders of individual wildfire claims in the case.

Table 31

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
16-Jan-2019	D
14-Jan-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
07-Jan-2019	B/Watch Neg/--
15-Nov-2018	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
05-Sep-2018	BBB/Negative/--
13-Jun-2018	BBB/Watch Neg/--
22-Feb-2018	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
22-Dec-2017	A-/Watch Neg/--
12-May-2017	A-/Stable/--
15-Aug-2016	BBB+/Positive/--
29-Oct-2015	BBB/Positive/--
10-Apr-2015	BBB/Stable/--
28-Aug-2013	BBB/Negative/--
08-Dec-2011	BBB/Stable/--
16-Mar-2011	BBB+/Negative/--
15-Dec-2010	BBB+/Stable/--
10-Sep-2010	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
31-May-2007	BBB+/Stable/--
16-Feb-2005	BBB/Stable/--
16-Apr-2004	BBB-/Stable/--
19-Dec-2003	D/Watch Pos/--
22-Jan-2001	D
16-Jan-2001	CC/Watch Neg/--
04-Jan-2001	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
31-Jan-2000	A+/Watch Neg/--
28-May-1997	A+/Positive/--
23-Sep-1996	A/Positive/--
09-Dec-1994	A/Negative/--
15-Jul-1988	A/Watch Neg/--
15-Jan-1988	A+/Negative/--
02-Oct-1986	A+/Stable/--

Shopko Stores Inc.

On Jan. 16, 2018, Wisconsin-based Shopko Stores Inc. defaulted after it filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

Earlier, on Dec. 30, 2005, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn its ratings on the issuer.

Table 32

Shopko Stores Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
30-Dec-2005	NR
08-Apr-2005	BB-/Watch Neg/--
22-Aug-2002	BB-/Stable/--
24-May-2001	BB-/Negative/--
22-Mar-2001	BB/Negative/--
14-Dec-2000	BB+/Watch Neg/--
14-Nov-2000	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
06-Oct-2000	BBB-/Negative/--
26-Jun-1997	BBB-/Stable/--
25-Apr-1997	BBB/Watch Neg/--
02-Apr-1997	BBB/Negative/--
10-Sep-1996	BBB/Watch Neg/--
05-Aug-1994	BBB/Stable/--
10-Jun-1993	BBB+/Negative/--
27-Feb-1992	BBB+/Stable/--

Ditech Holding Corp.

• US$1.5 billion first-lien term bank loan due 2020
• US$250 million 9.00% payment-in-kind toggle notes bank loan due Dec. 31, 2024
• US$250 million 9.00% second-lien due Dec. 31, 2024
• US$1.16 billion first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due June 30, 2022

On Jan. 18, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based Ditech Holding Corp. to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The downgrade followed Ditech's decision to forgo a $9 million interest payment due on the company's second-lien notes due 2024. The payment was originally due on Dec. 17, but it was subject to a 30-day grace period that ended on Jan. 16. The company also entered into a forbearance agreement with an ad hoc group of lenders representing more than 50% of the total credit exposure under the first-lien credit agreement.

On Feb. 12, 2019, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Ditech Holding Corp. to 'D' from 'SD' following the company's restructuring support agreement with certain lenders holding more than 75% of its term loan, as well as its voluntary filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

On Oct. 2, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on Ditech Holding Corp. to 'CCC-' from 'D'. We subsequently withdrew our ratings on Ditech Holding at the company's request. The outlook was negative at the time of withdrawal.

Ditech Holding exited its Chapter 11 bankruptcy when it entered into an asset-purchase agreement with New Residential Investment Corp. to acquire the forward business and Mortgage Assets Management LLC to acquire stock and assets of the reverse business.

Table 33

Ditech Holding Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
02-Oct-2019	NR
02-Oct-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
12-Feb-2019	D
18-Jan-2019	SD
21-Nov-2018	CCC/Negative/--
15-Feb-2018	CCC+/Stable/--
07-Dec-2017	D
18-Jul-2017	CCC-/Negative/--
17-Mar-2017	CCC/Negative/--
19-Jul-2016	B/Negative/--
13-Jun-2016	B+/Negative/--
14-Oct-2015	B+/Stable/--
11-Dec-2014	B+/Negative/--
24-May-2011	B+/Stable/--

PG&E Corp.

On Jan. 29, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on California-based utility holding company PG&E Corp. to 'D' from 'CC'. PG&E Corp. and subsidiary Pacific Gas & Electric Co. voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Earlier, on Jan. 14, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit ratings on PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to 'CC' from 'B', reflecting PG&E's announcement that it expected to file for bankruptcy protection and commence a reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Jan. 29, 2019.

Table 34

PG&E Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
29-Jan-2019	D
14-Jan-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
07-Jan-2019	B/Watch Neg/--
15-Nov-2018	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
05-Sep-2018	BBB/Negative/--
13-Jun-2018	BBB/Watch Neg/--
22-Feb-2018	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
22-Dec-2017	A-/Watch Neg/--
12-May-2017	A-/Stable/--
15-Aug-2016	BBB+/Positive/--
29-Oct-2015	BBB/Positive/--
10-Apr-2015	BBB/Stable/--
28-Aug-2013	BBB/Negative/--
08-Dec-2011	BBB/Stable/--
16-Mar-2011	BBB+/Negative/--
15-Dec-2010	BBB+/Stable/--
10-Sep-2010	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
10-Mar-2009	BBB+/Stable/--
15-Mar-2001	NR
16-Jan-2001	CC/Watch Neg/--
04-Jan-2001	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
31-Jan-2000	A/Watch Neg/--
28-May-1997	A/Stable/--
24-Jan-1997	A-/Positive/--

Charlotte Russe Inc.

• US$90 million first-lien term bank loan due Feb. 2, 2023

On Feb. 4, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on California-based specialty apparel retailer Charlotte Russe Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the company filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. We withdrew our ratings on the company on March 11.

On Jan. 14, 2019, we had lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on Charlotte Russe Inc. to 'CCC-' from 'CCC', reflecting our view of the increasing likelihood of a bankruptcy filing or debt restructuring occurring in the upcoming six months, given the company's continued weak operating performance with constrained liquidity. The company also hired Guggenheim Securities to explore strategic alternatives.

Table 35

Charlotte Russe Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
11-Mar-2019	NR
04-Feb-2019	D
14-Jan-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
26-Feb-2018	CCC/Negative/--
05-Feb-2018	SD
15-Dec-2017	CC/Negative/--
21-Sep-2017	CCC-/Negative/--
06-Feb-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
25-Apr-2016	B-/Negative/--
01-Oct-2015	B/Stable/--
24-Feb-2015	B+/Stable/--
14-Jul-2014	B/Positive/--
25-Feb-2014	B/Stable/--
08-May-2013	B-/Stable/--

TRM Holdings Corp.

On Feb. 6, 2019, Ohio-based TRM Holdings Corp., the parent of gift retailer Things Remembered Inc., defaulted after filing for Chapter 11.

Earlier, on Oct. 2, 2014, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn all of its ratings on the company, including the 'CCC+' issuer credit rating, reflecting the lack of receipt of timely information from the issuer.

Table 36

TRM Holdings Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
02-Oct-2014	NR
04-Sep-2014	CCC+/Negative/--
26-Jun-2014	B-/Watch Neg/--
11-Jun-2012	B/Stable/--

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc.

• US$300 million 1.50% convertible due Sept. 1, 2019
• US$375 million 5.875% senior notes due April 1, 2020
• US$450 million 5.00% senior unsecured notes due March 1, 2021
• US$111.9 million second-lien guaranteed secured bank loan due July 1, 2025
• US$300 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due June 15, 2023

On Feb. 7, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Louisiana-based offshore vessel provider Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' following the completion of a debt exchange, whereby holders of a portion of the company's unsecured notes due 2020 exchanged the debt for a new second-lien term loan due 2025. Holders of $131.6 million of the notes will now receive $111.9 million of the new loan. We view the exchange as distressed because the value received was less than the promise of the original securities and because we believed there was a realistic possibility of a conventional default before the exchange.

Earlier, on Jan. 9, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CC' from 'CCC-' following the company's announcement of a debt exchange offer of new second-lien term loans for its 5.875% unsecured notes due 2020.

Table 37

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
07-Feb-2019	SD
09-Jan-2019	CC/Negative/--
18-Aug-2017	CCC-/Negative/--
09-Aug-2017	SD
04-Nov-2016	CCC-/Negative/--
06-Jul-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
02-Jul-2015	B+/Stable/--
12-Sep-2014	BB-/Stable/--
25-Sep-2013	B+/Positive/--
10-Nov-2011	B+/Stable/--
08-Jun-2010	B+/Negative/--
26-Aug-2004	BB-/Stable/--
11-Mar-2004	B+/Watch Pos/--
14-Oct-2002	B+/Stable/--
23-Jul-2002	B+/Watch Pos/--
17-Apr-2002	B+/Negative/--
29-Jun-2001	B+/Stable/--

Fuse Media Inc.

• US$242 million 10.375% senior notes due July 1, 2019

On Feb. 7, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on California-based cable network company Fuse Media Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' because the company missed the Jan. 1, 2019, coupon payment on its $242 million senior secured notes due July 2019. The downgrade also reflected the forbearance agreement the company entered into with its bondholders.

We withdrew our ratings on the company on March 22, 2019.

Earlier, on Jan. 15, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Fuse to 'CC' from 'CCC' after the company lost 20% of its subscribers when both Comcast and Verizon dropped its channels from their multichannel video programming distribution platforms. The downgrade reflected our expectation that Fuse would not be able to repay its $242 million senior notes due July 2019 and would either pursue a distressed exchange or face insolvency within the next six months.

On June 18, 2019, the bankruptcy court overseeing the Chapter 11 proceedings of Fuse Media confirmed the company's prepackaged reorganization plan and approved the adequacy of its disclosure statement.

Table 38

Fuse Media Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
22-Mar-2019	NR
07-Feb-2019	D
15-Jan-2019	CC/Negative/--
13-Apr-2018	CCC/Negative/--
18-Apr-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
13-Jun-2014	B-/Stable/--

Trident Holding Co. LLC

On Feb. 10, 2019, Maryland-based provider of bedside diagnostic services to nursing homes and other postacute facilities Trident Holding Co. LLC defaulted after filing for Chapter 11.

Earlier, on June 28, 2018, S&P Global Ratings had assigned a 'CCC+' issuer credit rating to the company, reflecting its new capital structure following its refinancing transaction that closed on April 30, 2018.

Subsequent to these actions, we withdrew our ratings on the company due to a lack of timely information of satisfactory quality.

Table 39

Trident Holding Co. LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
28-Jun-2018	NR
28-Jun-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
22-Jun-2018	SD
22-Nov-2017	CCC-/Watch Neg/--
21-Aug-2017	CCC+/Watch Neg/--
14-Apr-2016	B-/Stable/--

Payless Inc.

• US$200 million first-lien A-2 term bank loan due Aug. 10, 2022
• US$80 million first-lien A-1 term bank loan due Feb. 10, 2022

On Feb. 19, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Kansas-based discount footwear retailer Payless Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's filing of voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This marked the company's second bankruptcy filing in two years, with the previous filing in April 2017 and subsequent emergence in August 2017. In the quarters leading up to the second bankruptcy, the company's operating performance continued to weaken. Payless also burned significant cash as it struggled to navigate a challenging retail environment with its sizable money-losing retail footprint and highly leveraged capital structure.

On March 21, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

On Jan. 16, 2020, Payless ShoeSource emerged from Chapter 11. The bankruptcy court confirmed the company's reorganization plan on Oct. 24, 2019.

Table 40

Payless Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
21-Mar-2019	NR
19-Feb-2019	D
16-Jan-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
09-Feb-2018	CCC/Negative/--
22-Aug-2017	B-/Negative/--
20-Jun-2017	NR
05-Apr-2017	D
01-Feb-2017	CCC/Negative/--
02-Dec-2016	B-/Negative/--
24-Aug-2016	B/Negative/--
13-Feb-2015	B/Stable/--
19-Feb-2014	B/Negative/--
07-Sep-2012	B/Stable/--
03-May-2012	B/Watch Neg/--
20-Dec-2011	B/Stable/--
14-Jun-2011	B+/Stable/--
03-Jun-2010	B+/Positive/--
15-Sep-2008	B+/Stable/--
08-May-2008	B+/Negative/--
27-Jul-2007	B+/Stable/--
23-May-2007	BB-/Watch Neg/--
22-Nov-2005	BB-/Stable/--
02-Sep-2004	BB-/Negative/--
02-Mar-2004	BB/Watch Neg/--
10-Jul-2003	BB/Stable/--
17-Jun-2003	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
30-May-2002	BBB-/Negative/--
24-Mar-2000	BBB-/Stable/--

One Call Corp.

• US$1.3 billion first-lien term loan B bank loan due Nov. 27, 2020
• US$228.223 million 10.00% second-lien notes due Oct. 1, 2024
• US$30 million 7.50% first-lien notes due July 1, 2024
• US$56.64 million revolver bank loan due Aug. 28, 2020
• US$56.64 million revolver bank loan due Aug. 28, 2022
• US$610 million 8.875% notes due Dec. 15, 2021
• US$998 million first-lien term loan B bank loan due Nov. 27, 2022
• US$339.81 million 7.50% first-lien payment-in-kind notes due July 1, 2024

On Feb. 21, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on New Jersey-based U.S. workers' compensation medical cost-containment provider One Call Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The company completed a debt exchange plan on its first- and second-lien notes that we viewed as a distressed exchange.

Earlier, on Feb. 8, 2019, we had lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on One Call Corp. to 'CC' from 'CCC+' and placed the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications following the company's announcement on Feb. 6, 2019 of a proposed exchange offering for its $404 million second-lien notes due 2024.

On March 1, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on One Call Corp. to 'CCC' from 'SD'. The outlook was negative. One Call completed the debt exchanges on its first-lien term loan, first-lien notes, and second-lien notes, and the outlook reflected our view of the potential for another distressed exchange or breach on the revolver financial covenant over the next 12 months.

On Oct. 7, 2019, we lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on One Call to 'CC' from 'CCC' and placed the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications. The downgrade was based on One Call's decision not to make its required interest payment on Oct. 1, 2019, for its second-lien notes due 2024. The company was working with its lenders to resolve the missed payment during the 30-day grace period. We believed an eventual payment, reorganization, distressed exchange, or default were all potential outcomes.

On Oct. 31, 2019, we lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on One Call Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' following the company's announcement that it completed a distressed debt exchange for preferred and common equity. Certain lenders, led by KKR & Co. Inc. and GSO Capital Partners, agreed to exchange large portions of their first- and second-lien debt for preferred and common equity, giving them majority control of the company.

On Nov. 4, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on One Call Corp. to 'B-' from 'SD' following completion of a recapitalization that would significantly lessen its debt load and enhance its financial flexibility.

Table 41

One Call Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
04-Nov-2019	B-/Stable/--
31-Oct-2019	SD
07-Oct-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
01-Mar-2019	CCC/Negative/--
21-Feb-2019	SD
08-Feb-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
17-Apr-2018	CCC+/Stable/--
30-Jun-2017	B-/Negative/--
05-Oct-2015	B-/Stable/--
08-Oct-2014	B/Stable/--
05-Dec-2013	B/Negative/--

Windstream Holdings Inc.

• US$415 million 10.50% second-lien notes due June 30, 2024
• US$554 million 6.375% senior notes due Aug. 1, 2023
• US$600 million 8.625% senior first-lien notes due Oct. 31, 2025
• US$802 million 9.00% second-lien notes due June 30, 2025
• US$832.6 million 8.75% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2024
• US$1.25 billion revolving bank loan due April 24, 2020
• US$1.347 billion term B-6 bank loan due March 29, 2021
• US$500 million 7.50% senior notes due June 1, 2022
• US$580 million term B-7 bank loan due Feb. 17, 2024
• US$600 million 7.50% senior notes due April 1, 2023
• US$700 million 6.375% senior notes due Aug. 1, 2023
• US$700 million 7.75% senior notes due Oct. 15, 2020
• US$950 million 7.75% senior notes due Oct. 1, 2021
• US$100 million 6.75% senior notes due April 1, 2028

On Feb. 26, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit ratings on Arkansas-based telecommunications provider Windstream Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries to 'D' from 'CCC-' following a voluntary filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This followed our earlier action on Feb. 21, 2019, wherein we lowered our ratings on the company to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+' following the court ruling that subsidiary Windstream Services LLC breached its sale and lease-back covenant under the indenture governing its 6.375% senior notes due 2023 when it spun off a portion of its fiber and copper plant into a REIT structure called Uniti in 2015.

On April 1, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 42

Windstream Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
01-Apr-2019	NR
26-Feb-2019	D
21-Feb-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
09-Aug-2018	CCC+/Developing/--
03-Aug-2018	SD
19-Jun-2018	CC/Negative/--
27-Apr-2018	B-/Negative/--
19-Sep-2017	B/Negative/--
06-Nov-2015	B+/Stable/--
06-Aug-2015	BB-/Watch Neg/--
12-Mar-2015	BB-/Negative/--
09-Sep-2013	BB-/Stable/--

Affinion Group Holdings Inc.

• US$1.34 billion term bank loan due May 10, 2022
• US$110 million revolver bank loan due May 10, 2022
• US$532.6 million payment-in-kind notes due Nov. 10, 2022

On March 8, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Connecticut-based loyalty and customer engagement solutions company Affinion Group Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC-'. The company elected not to pay the Feb. 19 $22.2 million interest payment on its first-lien term loan due May 10, 2022, as it entered into a forbearance agreement with its first-lien lenders. We viewed the $22 million missed interest payment as a default because we believed the company would not make the payment within 30 days of the payment due date. We believed Affinion's decision to forgo its interest payment was strategic, and not due to insufficient liquidity given cash on hand, because it proposed a new recapitalization plan and negotiated with lenders to restructure the balance sheet.

On April 17, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on Affinion to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after the company completed the distressed debt exchange of its unsecured notes due 2022. We withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company at its request.

Earlier, on Dec. 21, 2018, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Affinion to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+', reflecting heightened risk as the company was expected to pursue a restructuring agreement with its lenders or default on a payment, given the loss of one of its key customers and our forecast for negative cash flow and weakened liquidity.

Table 43

Affinion Group Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
17-Apr-2019	NR
17-Apr-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
08-Mar-2019	SD
21-Dec-2018	CCC-/Negative/--
12-May-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
11-May-2017	SD
03-Apr-2017	CC/Negative/--
22-Feb-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
13-Nov-2015	CCC+/Stable/--
10-Nov-2015	SD
01-Oct-2015	CC/Negative/--
12-Jun-2014	CCC+/Negative/--
10-Jun-2014	SD
30-Apr-2014	CC/Negative/--
26-Dec-2013	CCC+/Negative/--
17-Dec-2013	SD
08-Nov-2013	CC/Negative/--
25-Jun-2013	CCC+/Negative/--
07-Dec-2012	B-/Stable/--
20-Aug-2012	B/Watch Neg/--
27-Mar-2012	B/Negative/--
08-Dec-2011	B+/Negative/--
08-Feb-2011	B+/Stable/--
28-Sep-2010	B+/Negative/--

CTI Foods Holding Co. LLC

• US$140 million second-lien term bank loan due June 28, 2021
• US$370 million first-lien term bank loan due June 28, 2020

On March 11, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Wilder, Idaho-based CTI Foods Holding Co. LLC to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The company received commitments for $155 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and entered into a restructuring support agreement with holders of 78.7% of outstanding principal amount of first-lien term loan claims, holders of roughly 52.31% of principal amount of second-lien term loan claims, and the company's prepetition equity sponsors, Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking and Thomas H. Lee Partners, which hold about 94.31% of the equity interests in Chef Holdings, the holding company that controls CTI. The proceeds of the DIP facility would be used to pay down debt and fund ongoing operations during the Chapter 11 case, subject to court approval.

Earlier, on Nov. 12, 2018, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on CTI to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+', reflecting our expectation for a default, most likely in the form of a distressed exchange, over the next six months, considering that leverage was set to remain above 20x as the company continued to face meat-recall issues and write-downs related to food safety.

Table 44

CTI Foods Holding Co. LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
07-May-2019	NR
11-Mar-2019	D
12-Nov-2018	CCC-/Negative/--
29-Mar-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
15-May-2017	B-/Negative/--
07-Mar-2011	B/Stable/--
25-Mar-2009	B/Negative/--
24-Mar-2008	B/Stable/--
24-Oct-2007	B+/Watch Neg/--
22-May-2007	B+/Negative/--
09-May-2005	B+/Stable/--

PHI Inc.

• US$500 million 5.25% senior notes due March 15, 2019

On March 15, 2018, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Louisiana-based helicopter service provider PHI Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The downgrade reflected PHI's failure to retire or refinance its $500 million 5.25% unsecured notes before the March 15, 2019, maturity date. The company continued to negotiate with unsecured noteholders regarding its outstanding debt obligations and was in discussions to address above-market leases with certain lessors. Meanwhile, PHI's business operations would continue to be funded by cash on hand, cash flow from operations, and a new $70 million term loan from Blue Torch Capital. The Chapter 11 cases would only include PHI's principal U.S. entities, and the company expected to emerge from bankruptcy in summer 2019.

On March 22, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Earlier, on Nov. 6, 2018, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on PHI Inc. to 'CCC-' from 'B' following PHI's announcement of a new term loan facility, which addressed the approaching expiration of its asset-based lending facility and eliminated financial covenants.

Table 45

PHI Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
22-Mar-2019	NR
15-Mar-2019	D
06-Nov-2018	CCC-/Negative/--
14-Mar-2017	B/Negative/--
05-Mar-2014	BB-/Stable/--
27-Apr-2012	B+/Stable/--
16-Sep-2010	B+/Negative/--
08-Jun-2010	B+/Watch Neg/--
21-Mar-2008	B+/Stable/--
16-Jul-2007	BB-/Negative/--
12-Apr-2002	BB-/Stable/--

Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC

• US$200 million 6.375% notes due 2024
• US$290 million 12.00% second-lien notes due 2021

On March 15, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Wyoming-based thermal coal producer Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC'. The company elected not to make an approximate $1.8 million interest payment on its unsecured notes due 2024 as it continued to evaluate its restructuring alternatives. We did not expect the company would make this payment during the 30-day grace period because of uncertainty related to its ability to cover its fixed charges and substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

Table 46

Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
11-Jul-2019	NR
02-May-2019	D
15-Mar-2019	SD
31-Jan-2019	CCC/Negative/--
08-Nov-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
17-Mar-2017	B-/Stable/--
17-Oct-2016	B-/Negative/--
23-Sep-2016	SD
02-Mar-2016	B+/Stable/--
10-Nov-2009	BB-/Stable/--

Murray Energy Corp.

• US$1.3 billion 11.25% senior secured notes due April 15, 2021
• US$1.585 billion superpriority first-lien term B-2 bank loan due Oct. 17, 2022
• US$1.7 billion B-2 bank loan due 2020
• US$159 million superpriority first-lien term B-3 bank loan due Oct. 17, 2022
• US$175 million term B-3 bank loan due April 17, 2020
• US$498 million 12.00% 1.5-lien notes due April 30, 2024
• US$170 million revolver bank loan due March 26, 2021
• US$425 million 11.50% second-lien notes due April 1, 2023
• US$825 million first-lien term bank loan due March 28, 2022
• US$400 million 9.50% second-lien notes due Dec. 5, 2020
• US$90 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due Feb. 12, 2021

On Aug. 28, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered it issuer credit rating on Ohio-based coal producer Murray Energy Corp. to 'CCC' from 'CCC+', reflecting the view that the company was likely to consider a distressed exchange offer within the next 12 months due to the deep discount of its secured debt and the possibility that its sources of liquidity could fall short of uses within the next year, given weakening coal end markets.

On Oct. 4, 2019, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Murray to 'SD' from 'CCC' after Murray announced that it elected not to make the amortization and interest payments on its superpriority term loans B-2 and B-3 due on Sept. 30, 2019. In our view, the forbearance implied the investors would receive less value than the promise of the original securities.

On Oct. 8, 2019, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Murray to 'D' from 'SD'. The company did not make the amortization and interest payments on its superpriority term loans B-2 and B-3 within the five-day grace period, which expired on Oct. 7, 2019.

Earlier, on March 6, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Murray to 'CCC+' from 'B-', reflecting our view that the company was at heightened risk of a distressed exchange or other restructuring leading up to 2021 maturities, considering that the company's 1.5-lien and second-lien debt (totaling $860 million outstanding) was trading at about a 50% discount to par. The company had $440 million in debt due in 2021.

On March 21, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Murray to 'SD' from 'CCC+'. The company had purchased approximately $48 million of its debt at an average discount to par of 40% since third-quarter 2018. The downgrade reflected our view that deeply discounted open-market debt repurchases by distressed issuers are tantamount to default.

On March 26, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on Murray to 'CCC+' from 'SD', reflecting our expectation that the company would continue to restructure its debt by repurchasing its second- and 1.5-lien notes at a deep discount to par in the open market.

Earlier, on Jan. 31, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Cloud Peak to 'CCC' from 'CCC+' following the company's Jan. 29 announcement that it retained restructuring advisers to review its capital structure and restructuring alternatives.

Table 47

Murray Energy Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
08-Oct-2019	D
04-Oct-2019	SD
28-Aug-2019	CCC/Negative/--
26-Mar-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
21-Mar-2019	SD
06-Mar-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
02-Jul-2018	B-/Stable/--
18-Jun-2018	CCC+/Watch Pos/--
15-Jun-2018	SD
06-Jun-2018	CC/Watch Neg/--
20-Sep-2016	B-/Stable/--
27-Apr-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
29-Jan-2016	SD
18-Dec-2015	B/Watch Neg/--
07-Jan-2015	B+/Stable/--
13-Nov-2013	B/Stable/--
29-Oct-2013	B/Watch Neg/--
16-Oct-2009	B/Stable/--

Evergreen AcqCo1 L.P. d/b/a Savers

• US$60 million revolver bank loan due April 9, 2019
• US$715 million term C bank loan due July 9, 2019

On March 28, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Washington-based for-profit thrift retailer Evergreen AcqCo1 L.P. (d/b/a Savers) to 'SD' from 'CCC' following the company's completion of a broad out-of-court restructuring. The company exchanged its senior subordinated notes due July 2022 (unrated) for common equity. We viewed this as a distressed exchange because the noteholders received less than par and because we believed there was a high probability of a conventional default if Savers had not completed the transaction.

On March 29, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 48

Evergreen AcqCo1 LP d/b/a Savers--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
29-Mar-2019	NR
28-Mar-2019	SD
15-Nov-2017	CCC/Negative/--
10-Feb-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
08-Dec-2014	B-/Negative/--
26-Aug-2014	B/Negative/--
04-Jun-2013	B/Stable/--

Hexion Inc.

• US$574 million 9.00% senior secured second-priority notes due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$200 million 9.25% debt due March 15, 2021
• US$225 million 13.75% notes due Feb. 1, 2022
• US$250 million 7.875% debt due Feb. 15, 2023
• US$315 million 10.00% senior notes due April 15, 2020
• US$560 million 10.375% first-priority notes due Feb. 1, 2022
• US$1.55 billion 6.625% first-priority senior notes due April 15, 2020

On April 2, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Columbus, Ohio-based thermoset resin manufacturer and marketer Hexion Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC' following its filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The bankruptcy would include substantially all of the company's U.S. subsidiaries and one nonoperating entity based in Nova Scotia, Canada.

On June 10, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'B' from 'D', anticipating emergence from bankruptcy with a revised capital structure on or around July 1, 2019.

Table 49

Hexion Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
10-Jun-19	B/Stable/--
1-Apr-19	D
17-Jan-19	CCC/Negative/--
14-Nov-18	CCC+/Negative/--
21-Feb-17	CCC+/Stable/--
12-Feb-16	CCC+/Negative/--
14-Sep-15	CCC+/Stable/--
1-Oct-14	CCC+/Negative/--
3-Feb-10	B-/Stable/--
14-Jan-10	CCC+/Watch Pos/--
29-Jun-09	CCC+/Negative/--
21-Apr-09	SD
28-Jan-09	CCC+/Watch Neg/--
4-Nov-08	B-/Watch Neg/--
5-Jul-07	B/Watch Neg/--
20-Oct-06	B/Stable/--
2-May-06	B+/Stable/--
6-May-05	B+/Negative/--
26-Apr-05	B+/Watch Neg/--
8-Dec-04	B+/Stable/--
7-Oct-04	B+/Watch Neg/--
13-Aug-04	B+/Stable/--
6-Jul-04	BB/Watch Neg/--
23-Sep-02	BB/Negative/--
3-Sep-02	BB+/Watch Neg/--
1-Apr-96	BB+/Negative/--
7-Mar-95	BBB-/Negative/--
12-Aug-94	BBB
17-Jan-94	BBB/Negative/--
27-Oct-93	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
11-Feb-93	A-/Stable/--
7-Apr-92	A/Watch Neg/--
18-Sep-91	A+/Stable/--
2-Feb-89	A+/Positive/--
12-Jan-83	A+/Stable/--
30-May-79	A/Stable/--
15-Mar-74	A

Southcross Energy Partners L.P.

On April 1, 2019, Texas-based provider of natural gas gathering, processing, treating, compression, and transportation services Southcross Energy Partners L.P. defaulted after filing for Chapter 11.

Earlier, on Dec. 19, 2018, S&P Global Ratings had lowered its rating on the company to 'CCC-' from 'CCC' as the company continued to face significant challenges to its business and limited near-term liquidity and financial flexibility through first-quarter 2019.

Later, on Jan. 14, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 50

Southcross Energy Partners L.P.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
14-Jan-19	NR
19-Dec-18	CCC-/Negative/--
26-Sep-18	CCC/Negative/--
1-Aug-18	CCC+/Watch Neg/--
1-Nov-17	CCC+/Watch Pos/--
24-Feb-17	CCC+/Stable/--
1-Apr-16	CCC+/Negative/--
11-Jan-16	B-/Negative/--
15-Oct-15	B-/Stable/--
23-Feb-15	B/Negative/--
10-Jul-14	B/Stable/--

Monitronics International Inc.

• US$1.1 billion term B-2 bank loan due Sept. 30, 2022
• US$585 million 9.125% senior notes due April 1, 2020
• US$295 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due Sept. 30, 2021

On April 2, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Texas-based residential alarm monitoring service provider Monitronics International Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the company elected not to make an approximate $26.7 million interest payment on its $585 million 9.125% unsecured notes due 2020 in order to evaluate its restructuring alternatives.

On July 1, 2019, we lowered our issuer credit rating on Monitronics to 'D' from 'SD'. The issuer filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Later, on Aug. 29, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on Monitronics to 'B-' from 'D. We expected the company to emerge from bankruptcy at about the end of August, after eliminating about $885 million of debt.

Table 51

Monitronics International Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
29-Aug-19	B-/Negative/--
1-Jul-19	D
2-Apr-19	SD
4-Sep-18	CC/Negative/--
3-Aug-18	CCC/Negative/--
12-Feb-18	B-/Negative/--
8-Sep-16	B-/Stable/--
13-Aug-15	B/Negative/--
11-Apr-12	B/Stable/--
14-Mar-12	NR

Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc.

• US$425 million 8.75% senior secured notes due April 1, 2022
• US$425 million term B bank loan due Oct. 1, 2022
• US$46 million revolver bank loan due Sept. 30, 2020
• US$470.808 million term B bank loan due Sept. 30, 2021

On April 2, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based data protection and disaster recovery services provider Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC+' following the company's restructuring support agreement with certain lenders holding more than 75% of its term loan and 85% of its senior notes. The restructuring was expected to be implemented through a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

On May 7, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company.

Table 52

Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
7-May-19	NR
2-Apr-19	D
31-Aug-18	CCC+/Stable/--
22-Nov-17	CCC+/Negative/--
21-Aug-17	B-/Negative/--
7-Mar-16	B-/Stable/--
19-Dec-14	B/Negative/--
17-Mar-14	B+/Stable/--

Fusion Connect Inc.

• US$40 million revolver bank notes due May 4, 2022
• US$45 million term A bank loan due May 4, 2022
• US$510 million first-lien term B loan bank loan due May 4, 2023
• US$85 million second-lien term B loan bank loan due Nov. 3, 2023

On April 4, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New York-based integrated cloud solutions provider Fusion Connect Inc. to 'D' from 'B' after the company elected not to pay about $7 million in aggregate principal due April 1, 2019, on its first-lien term loans.

Table 53

Fusion Connect Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
4-Apr-19	D
20-Feb-18	B/Negative/--

Curvature Inc.

• US$78.528 million second-lien notes due Oct. 28, 2024
• US$530 million first-lien term bank loan due Oct. 28, 2023
• US$55 million revolver bank loan due Oct. 28, 2022
• US$115 million second-lien secured bank loan due Oct. 27, 2024

On April 5, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on North Carolina-based global information technology service provider Curvature Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the company completed a second-lien debt exchange transaction, deemed a distressed exchange because the timing of some of the payments on the second-lien notes due Oct. 28, 2024, had been postponed. The ranking of $138.5 million of the existing second-lien notes had also been effectively lowered in the payment waterfall.

Subsequently, on April 10, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'SD', given cost-cutting initiatives. The rating action reflected our view that Curvature's capital structure was unsustainable, and with its recent weak operating performance, we believed the company faced significant risks in executing its revenue turnaround strategy after recent merger integration challenges that caused sales execution issues.

Table 54

Curvature Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
10-Apr-19	CCC/Negative/--
5-Apr-19	SD
27-Sep-18	CCC+/Stable/--
19-Sep-17	B-/Stable/--
13-Sep-16	B/Stable/--

MIE Holdings Corp.

• US$500 million 7.50% notes due April 25, 2019
• US$248.39 million 13.75% senior unsecured notes due March 26, 2022
• HK$340 million 5.00% notes due Jan. 26, 2021

On April 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Cayman Islands-based global information technology service provider MIE Holdings Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' after MIE completed an exchange offer for its senior unsecured notes due April 25, 2019. We viewed the transaction as a distressed exchange because investors would receive significantly less than what they were promised for the original securities on the maturity date.

On April 25, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC-' from 'SD' upon completion of its exchange offer. This reflected our view that the company's nonrepayment risk in the next six months remained high due to the material liquidity deficit. MIE's capital structure was still unsustainable, despite the recent completion of its exchange offer.

On May 14, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 55

MIE Holdings Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
14-May-19	NR
25-Apr-19	CCC-/Negative/--
12-Apr-19	SD
1-Mar-19	CC/Negative/--
28-Aug-17	CCC-/Negative/--
28-Aug-17	SD
12-Jun-17	CC/Negative/--
11-Apr-17	CCC/Negative/--
25-Jan-16	B-/Negative/--
7-Aug-15	B/Watch Neg/--
19-Jan-15	B/Stable/--
26-Apr-11	B+/Stable/--

Jones Energy Inc.

• US$450 million 9.25% first-lien notes due March 15, 2023
• US$250 million 9.25% senior unsecured notes due March 15, 2023
• US$450 million 9.25% first-lien notes due March 15, 2023
• US$500 million 6.75% senior unsecured notes due April 1, 2022

On April 14, 2019, the Texas-based oil and gas company Jones Energy Inc. defaulted after it filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

Earlier, on Oct. 15, 2015, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn its ratings on the issuer.

Table 56

Jones Energy Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
15-Oct-15	NR
24-Mar-14	B/Stable/--

Crossmark Holdings Inc.

• US$105 million second-lien term bank loan due Dec. 21, 2020
• US$425 million first-lien term bank loan due Dec. 21, 2019
• US$56.25 million revolver bank loan due June 28, 2019
• US$100 million first-lien senior secured bank loan due Dec. 21, 2019

On April 15, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Texas-based sales and marketing service company Crossmark Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The downgrade followed the issuer's missed principal and interest payments on its $425 million first-lien term loan due December 2019 and missed interest payment on its $90 million second-lien term loan due December 2020.

On Jan. 17, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on Crossmark Holdings Inc. to 'CC' from 'CCC' ahead of potential restructuring.

On Oct. 11, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company at its request.

Table 57

Crossmark Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
11-Oct-19	NR
15-Apr-19	SD
17-Jan-19	CC/Negative/--
14-Sep-17	CCC/Negative/--
24-Jan-17	CCC+/Stable/--
1-Apr-15	B-/Stable/--
15-Jan-13	B/Stable/--

Bristow Group Inc.

• US$350 million 8.75% notes due March 1, 2023
• US$450 million 6.25% senior unsecured (callable) notes due Oct. 15, 2022
• US$143.75 million 4.50% notes due June 1, 2023

On April 16, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Houston-based global helicopter service provider Bristow Group Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-'. The downgrade reflected Bristow's decision to exercise its 30-day grace period after electing not to make a $12.5 million interest payment on its 6.25% unsecured notes due 2022. The company also announced that it had entered into temporary waiver agreements with its lenders in order to avoid defaulting on its asset-based loan and equipment loans because of the missed interest payment.

On June 7, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on the company.

Table 58

Bristow Group Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
7-Jun-19	NR
16-Apr-19	D
11-Apr-19	CCC-/Negative/--
12-Feb-19	CCC+/Negative/--
11-Jan-19	B-/Watch Neg/--
12-Nov-18	B/Watch Neg/--
16-May-17	B/Negative/--
13-Feb-17	BB-/Negative/--
19-Feb-16	BB-/Stable/--
21-Feb-13	BB/Stable/--
23-Feb-12	BB/Negative/--
21-Mar-08	BB/Stable/--
13-Jun-06	BB/Negative/--
27-Apr-05	BB/Watch Neg/--
3-Jun-03	BB+/Stable/--
31-May-02	BB/Positive/--
7-Dec-98	BB/Stable/--
16-Jan-98	BB/Positive/--
21-Nov-96	BB/Stable/--

Hospital Acquisition LLC

On May 6, 2019, Texas-based long-term acute care services company Hospital Acquisition LLC defaulted after filing a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Table 59

Hospital Acquisition LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
17-Feb-17	NR
25-Jun-15	B-/Stable/--
18-Jun-14	B-/Positive/--
8-May-13	B-/Stable/--

Preferred Proppants LLC

• US$425 million term bank loan due July 27, 2020

On May 9, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered the issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based hydraulic fracturing sand producer Preferred Proppants LLC (PPL) to 'D' from 'CCC'. The downgrade followed PPL's restructuring and recapitalization. The company's (unrated) asset-based lending facility due 2019 was decreased to $30 million from $50 million, and its first-lien term loan due 2020 was canceled, with holders receiving 100% of the equity in the new restructured company. PPL's (unrated) $300 million second-lien term loan due 2021 was also canceled, with no recovery for investors.

On May 9, 2019, we withdrew the ratings on the company.

Table 60

Preferred Proppants LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
9-May-19	NR
9-May-19	D
26-Jun-18	CCC+/Stable/--
13-Jul-16	CCC/Negative/--
17-Aug-15	B/Negative/--
1-Aug-14	B/Stable/--
12-Dec-13	D
17-Oct-13	CCC/Watch Neg/--
30-Jan-13	B+/Negative/--
5-Sep-12	B+/Watch Neg/--
6-Jan-12	B+/Stable/--

White Star Petroleum LLC

On May 28, 2019, Oklahoma-based White Star Petroleum LLC (formerly known as American Energy - Woodford LLC), which explores and produces oil and gas, defaulted after filing a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on May 24, 2019.

Table 61

White Star Petroleum Holdings LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
17-Aug-16	NR
26-Jul-16	CCC+/Negative/--
28-Apr-16	SD
10-Feb-16	CCC/Negative/--
26-Jun-15	CCC+/Positive/--
25-Jun-15	SD
27-May-15	CC/Watch Neg/--
5-May-15	CCC+/Negative/--
4-Sep-14	B-/Stable/--

Sheridan Investment Partners I LLC

• US$255 million revolver bank loan due May 31, 2019
• US$900 million term loan B-2 bank loan due Oct. 1, 2019

On May 31, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit ratings on Sheridan Production Partners I-A L.P., Sheridan Investment Partners I LLC, and Sheridan Production Partners I-M L.P. (collectively referred to as "Sheridan Fund I") to 'SD' from 'CCC-'. The rating action followed the extension of the fund's $168 million maturing revolving credit facilities to June 14, 2019, and the fund's proposal to extend the revolver and term loan maturities to match the expected 2022 end of the fund.

On Oct. 3, 2019, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Sheridan Investment Partners I LLC to 'D' from 'SD' after it decided to cease interest payments. The company had obtained waivers from the majority of term loan and revolving credit facilities lenders regarding the payment of cash interest and the maturity of the credit facilities as it negotiated a potential restructuring transaction.

Later, on Dec. 12, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 62

Sheridan Investment Partners I LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
12-Dec-19	N
3-Oct-19	D
31-May-19	SD
26-Oct-18	CCC-/Watch Dev/--
13-Dec-16	CCC+/Negative/--
8-Feb-16	CCC-/Negative/--
2-Feb-16	SD
29-Dec-15	CCC/Negative/--
23-Dec-14	B+/Negative/--
4-Dec-13	B+/Stable/--

Sheridan Investment Partners II L.P.

• US$388 million bank loan
• US$800 million term loan bank loan due 2020

On May 31, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit ratings on Sheridan Production Partners II-A L.P., Sheridan Investment Partners II L.P., and Sheridan Production Partners II-M L.P. (collectively referred to as Sheridan Fund II) to 'SD' from 'CCC-'. The downgrade reflected that Sheridan Fund II entered into agreements with its creditors to defer debt service payments on its revolving credit facility and secured term loan to July 31. The term and revolver lenders would not receive $9 million in interest payments on the original May 31 due date, and $1.4 million in amortization payments on the term loan due at the end of June would not be made at that time. We view such missed payments, with no additional consideration for the deferral, as a default.

On Sept. 17, 2019, we lowered our long-term issuer credit ratings on Sheridan to 'D' after it entered a restructuring support agreement with respective lenders.

Later, on Dec. 12, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit ratings on the company at its request.

Table 63

Sheridan Investment Partners II L.P.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
12-Dec-19	NR
17-Sep-19	D
31-May-19	SD
18-Apr-19	CCC-/Negative/--
20-Oct-17	CCC+/Negative/--
8-Feb-16	CCC-/Negative/--
2-Feb-16	SD
29-Dec-15	CCC/Negative/--
23-Dec-14	B+/Negative/--
4-Dec-13	B+/Stable/--

FTD Inc.

On May 31, 2019, FTD Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of FTD Cos.--a U.S.-based company engaged in providing floral, gift, and related products and services--completed the sale of the company's Interflora business in the U.K. through the sale of all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of its wholly owned subsidiary. Subsequently, on June 3, 2019, FTD Inc. defaulted after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Earlier on, Aug. 28, 2008, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn its ratings on the issuer.

Table 64

FTD Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
28-Aug-08	NR
30-Apr-08	B+/Watch Neg/--
29-Jan-04	B+/Stable/--

Legacy Reserves L.P.

• US$250 million 6.625% notes due Dec. 1, 2021
• US$300 million 8.00% senior unsecured notes due Dec. 1, 2020
• US$300 million second-lien term bank loan due Aug. 31, 2021

On June 4, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Midland, Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Legacy Reserves L.P. to 'D' from 'CCC-'. The rating was lowered after the issuer announced that it elected not to make its interest payments on its senior unsecured and convertible notes due 2020, 2021, and 2023. We did not expect the company to make these payments within 30 days. We view the missed interest payments as a general default.

Table 65

Legacy Reserves LP--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
5-Aug-19	NR
4-Jun-19	D
18-Mar-19	CCC-/Negative/--
28-Sep-18	CCC/Negative/--
21-Sep-18	SD
18-Sep-18	CC/Negative/--
27-Sep-16	CCC/Negative/--
9-Feb-16	B-/Stable/--
2-Oct-15	B/Stable/--
16-Jan-15	B+/Negative/--
8-May-14	B+/Stable/--
13-Nov-12	B/Stable/--

Neiman Marcus Group LLC (The)

• US$125 million 7.125% senior debt due June 1, 2028
• US$12.697 million term bank loan due Oct. 25, 2020
• US$600 million 8.75% payment-in-kind toggle notes due Oct. 15, 2021
• US$960 million 8.00% cash pay notes due Oct. 15, 2021

On June 11, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Massachusetts-based retail company The Neiman Marcus Group LLC to 'SD' from 'CC'. The rating was lowered after the issuer announced the settlement of its comprehensive restructuring, including a second-lien note offering and debt exchange. We viewed the restructuring (including the second-lien note offering and debt exchange) as a selective default because of the company's distressed financial condition and the likelihood of a conventional default in the absence of the restructuring, and because debt investors received less than the promise of the original securities.

Later, on June 14, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on The Neiman Marcus Group LLC to 'CCC' from 'SD', owing to a perceived continued risk of default in the next 12 months.

Table 66

The Neiman Marcus Group LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
14-Jun-19	CCC/Negative/--
11-Jun-19	SD
4-Mar-19	CC/Negative/--
29-Oct-18	CCC-/Negative/--
30-Jun-17	CCC/Negative/--
9-Feb-17	CCC+/Negative/--
17-Mar-16	B-/Negative/--
7-Jan-16	B-/Stable/--
4-Oct-13	B/Stable/--
10-Sep-13	B+/Watch Neg/--
21-Apr-11	B+/Stable/--
26-Mar-10	B/Stable/--
16-Apr-09	B/Negative/--
5-Feb-09	B+/Watch Neg/--
11-Dec-08	B+/Negative/--
9-Oct-07	BB-/Stable/--
22-Mar-07	B+/Watch Pos/--
30-Sep-05	B+/Stable/--
16-Mar-05	BBB/Watch Neg/--
20-Jan-04	BBB/Stable/--
7-Feb-02	BBB/Negative/--
30-Oct-98	BBB/Stable/--
30-Apr-98	BBB/Positive/--

New Academy Holding Co. LLC

• US$1.825 billion term B bank loan due July 1, 2022

On June 14, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based sporting goods retailer New Academy Holding Co. LLC to 'SD' from 'CCC+'. The rating was lowered after the issuer repurchased an additional $54.4 million of principal of its senior secured term loan facility due in 2022 at approximately 30% lower than par through open-market transactions. We view these repurchases at less than the original promise as de facto partial restructuring.

Later, on June 20, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD' after it completed repurchases of its senior secured term loan facility due 2022, which we considered a distressed exchange. The rating reflected the risk of conventional default and incorporated our view of ongoing risks to the company's business and still-sizable funded debt level.

Table 67

New Academy Holding Co. LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
20-Jun-19	CCC+/Negative/--
14-Jun-19	SD
14-Sep-17	CCC+/Negative/--
3-Apr-17	B-/Negative/--
1-Nov-16	B-/Stable/--
9-Apr-14	B/Stable/--

Denbury Resources Inc.

• US$1.2 billion 4.625% senior subordinated notes due July 15, 2023
• US$1.25 billion 5.50% senior notes due May 1, 2022
• US$3.5 billion revolving bank loan due Dec. 9, 2019
• US$400 million second-lien notes due 2024
• US$400 million 6.375% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2021
• US$455.7 million 9.25% second-lien notes due 2022
• US$615.1 million 9.00% second-lien notes due May 15, 2021
• US$528.026 million 7.75% second-lien notes due Feb. 15, 2024
• US$245.548 million 6.375% senior unsecured notes due Dec. 31, 2024

On June 19, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas production company Denbury Resources Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The rating was lowered after the issuer closed on its previously announced privately negotiated exchange whereby it exchanged a portion of its senior subordinated notes for a combination of new senior secured second-lien notes, cash, and new senior convertible notes. We viewed the transaction of the subordinated notes as distressed despite the exchange being at nominal par value. We viewed the value of the exchange as less than the original promise under the subordinated notes because of the maturity extension and the potential for forced conversion to equity. In addition, we viewed the exchange as distressed rather than opportunistic because of the trading levels of the notes.

Later on July 2, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD'. While the recent note repurchases reduced gross debt by approximately $120 million, we viewed leverage as high in 2019 and 2020. Under our price and cost assumptions, the company would have limited covenant headroom when it stepped down in 2021. However, the new senior convertible notes' potential conversion to equity could improve debt metrics and decrease leverage.

Table 68

Denbury Resources Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
2-Jul-19	CCC+/Negative/--
19-Jun-19	SD
5-Jun-19	CC/Negative/--
26-Mar-19	CCC+/Negative/--
30-Oct-18	B-/Watch Pos/--
14-Aug-18	B-/Stable/--
23-May-18	CCC+/Positive/--
15-Feb-18	CCC+/Stable/--
11-Dec-17	SD
4-Dec-17	CC/Negative/--
24-May-16	CCC+/Negative/--
12-May-16	SD
4-May-16	CC/Negative/--
9-Feb-16	B/Negative/--
23-Dec-15	BB-/Negative/--
2-Oct-15	BB-/Stable/--
16-Jan-15	BB/Negative/--
22-Jan-13	BB/Stable/--
25-Oct-12	BB/Positive/--
21-Jun-10	BB/Stable/--
26-Jan-09	BB/Negative/--
4-Nov-05	BB/Stable/--
11-Mar-04	BB-/Positive/--
20-May-02	BB-/Stable/--
8-Jun-01	B+/Positive/--
3-Sep-99	B+/Stable/--
27-Apr-99	B/Positive/--
11-Aug-98	B/Stable/--
27-Jan-98	B+/Stable/--

Mood Media Corp.

• US$187.9 million PIK notes due Dec. 31, 2024

On June 28, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on Delaware-based in-store media solutions provider Mood Media Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC'. The rating was lowered after the issuer completed its offer to exchange its partial cash pay (6% cash and 8% PIK) senior unsecured notes due in 2024 (old debt) for new $259.2 million senior unsecured notes (100% PIK) due in 2023. In aggregate, the company expected to issue approximately $277.8 million of new notes, including accrued and unpaid interest. The company also announced that it had previously raised an additional $34.4 million under its old debt to fund the acquisition of franchisee South Central A/V.

Later, on July 1, 2019, we raised our long-term issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'SD' after the company completed its exchange offer. In our opinion, the company should have had the resources to service its debt over the short term, due to recent actions. However, ongoing operational challenges would continue to pressure free cash flow and weaken credit metrics. Therefore, we still believed there was a risk of another debt restructuring within the next 12 months without a significant improvement in the business.

Table 69

Mood Media Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
1-Jul-19	CCC/Negative/--
28-Jun-19	SD
28-May-19	CC/Negative/--
31-Jul-18	CCC+/Negative/--
30-Jun-17	B-/Negative/--
29-Jun-17	SD
18-Apr-17	CC/Negative/--
17-Apr-15	CCC+/Negative/--
7-Apr-14	B-/Negative/--
24-Apr-13	B-/Stable/--
9-Oct-12	B/Stable/--
27-Apr-12	B/Positive/--
6-Apr-11	B/Stable/--

PES Holdings LLC

• US$120 million tranche A term bank loan due Dec. 31, 2022
• US$417 million tranche C term bank loan due Dec. 31, 2022
• US$82.5 million tranche B term bank loan due Dec. 31, 2022
• US$58 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due Feb. 14, 2022

On July 3, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New Jersey-based oil and gas refining company PES Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'B-' after the company elected to not make an interest payment due on June 28, 2019, which constituted an event of default under our timeliness of payments criteria.

Later, on Sept. 30, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on PES Holdings LLC at the issuer's request.

Table 70

PES Holdings LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
30-Sep-2019	NR
3-Jul-2019	D
11-Sep-2018	B-/Stable/--

Stearns Holdings LLC

• US$250 million 9.375% notes due Aug. 15, 2020

On July 11, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on California-based mortgage lending services company Stearns Holdings LLC to 'D' from 'CCC+' following the company's announcement of an agreement with its majority equityholder, Blackstone, to implement a restructuring plan. This restructuring would be implemented through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

On Nov. 21, 2019, we raised the issuer credit rating on Stearns to 'CCC' from 'D' after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 5, with funds of Blackstone, Stearns' financial sponsor, acquiring 100% stake in the company. Subsequent to the upgrade, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company at its request.

Table 71

Stearns Holdings LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
21-Nov-2019	NR
21-Nov-2019	CCC/Negative/--
11-Jul-2019	D
20-Dec-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
16-Aug-2018	B-/Negative/--
21-Aug-2017	B/Negative/--
23-Aug-2016	B/Stable/--
11-Dec-2015	B+/Negative/--
21-Aug-2015	B+/Watch Neg/--
13-Jun-2014	B+/Negative/--
30-Jul-2013	B+/Stable/--

American Energy Permian Holdings LLC

• US$515 million notes due May 1, 2022
• US$295 million 8.00% secured second-lien notes due June 15, 2020
• US$350 million 6.737% senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2019
• US$560 million first-lien notes due Dec. 31, 2020
• US$600 million 7.375% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2021
• US$650 million 7.125% senior unsecured notes due Nov. 1, 2020

On July 18, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma City-based American Energy Permian Holdings LLC (formerly known as Sable Permian Resources Holdings LLC), the parent and debt-issuing vehicle of oil and gas company American Energy - Permian Basin LLC, to 'D' from 'CC'. This downgrade came after the subsidiary missed the 30-day forbearance period and the subsequent extension on the missed interest payments on its senior unsecured notes due 2019, 2020, and 2021.

On Nov. 20, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company upon completion of a comprehensive debt restructuring outside of bankruptcy. Despite the debt restructuring, which resulted in a $1.4 billion reduction in overall debt, we expected that debt leverage would remain high. We also assessed liquidity as less than adequate, given our expectation for negative free cash flow over the next 12 months combined with modest maturities of the stub portions of the company's old senior unsecured notes.

Table 72

American Energy Permian Holdings LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
20-Nov-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
18-Jul-2019	D
8-May-2019	CC/Negative/--
27-Jul-2018	CCC/Negative/--
11-Sep-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
25-May-2016	CCC/Negative/--
13-May-2016	SD
2-Oct-2015	CCC+/Negative/--
4-May-2015	B-/Negative/--
30-Oct-2014	B/Negative/--

Blackhawk Mining LLC

• US$624.463 million first-lien senior secured bank loan due Feb. 17, 2022
• US$35.537 million first-lien senior secured bank loan due Feb. 17, 2022
• US$229.239 million second-lien secured bank loan due April 7, 2021

On Nov. 16, 2015, we withdrew our ratings on Blackhawk Mining LLC at the issuer's request, less than a year after we first rated the company.

Table 73

Blackhawk Mining--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
16-Nov-2015	NR
05-May-2015	B/Stable/--

99 Cents Only Stores LLC

• US$250 million 11.00% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2019
• US$433.99 million first-lien term bank loan due Jan. 13, 2022
• US$140.11 million 13.00% secured notes due April 14, 2022
• US$160 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due April 8, 2021
• US$25 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due April 8, 2021
• US$130 million second-lien guaranteed bank loan due April 12, 2022

On July 23, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on City of Commerce, Calif.-based food products retailer 99 Cents Only Stores LLC to 'SD' from 'CC' as the company executed an exchange of its second-lien term loan and secured notes facilities (both unrated) for its common and preferred equity. We considered this offer a distressed exchange, tantamount to a default, following the completion, based on the transaction terms and our criteria.

On Aug. 1, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD' as the company completed its exchange. The 'CCC+' rating reflected our view of the company's capital structure as unsustainable, owing to the high leverage despite the debt reduction.

Table 74

99 cents only stores LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
01-Aug-2019	CCC+/Developing/--
23-Jul-2019	SD
06-Jun-2019	CC/Negative/--
19-Dec-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
08-Nov-2017	SD
29-Sep-2017	CC/Negative/--
24-May-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
19-Nov-2015	B-/Negative/--
24-Nov-2014	B-/Stable/--
01-Oct-2013	B/Negative/--
17-Feb-2012	B/Stable/--

Barneys New York Inc.

On Aug. 6, 2019, New York-based retailer Barneys New York Inc. filed for Chapter 11 proceedings while it attempted to restructure its business in hopes of selling it.

In May 2012, we had withdrawn our ratings on Barneys New York Inc. at the issuer's request.

Table 75

Barneys New York Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
09-May-2012	NR
09-May-2012	B-/Stable/--
08-May-2012	SD
09-Feb-2012	CC/Negative/--
10-Jun-2010	CCC/Negative/--
21-Apr-2010	CCC/Watch Pos/--
13-Apr-2009	CCC/Negative/--
05-Mar-2009	B-/Negative/--
12-Nov-2008	B-/Stable/--
27-Jul-2007	B/Negative/--

Halcon Resources Corp.

• US$625 million 6.75% senior notes due Feb. 15, 2025
• US$275 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due Sept. 7, 2022

On Aug. 7, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma City-based oil and gas exploration and production company Halcon Resources Corp. to 'D' from 'CC' after the company voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On Oct. 14, 2019, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on Halcon at the company's request.

Table 76

Halcon Resources Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
14-Oct-2019	NR
07-Aug-2019	D
14-May-2019	CC/Negative/--
07-Jan-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
07-Aug-2018	B-/Negative/--
21-Sep-2016	B-/Stable/--
23-May-2016	D
28-Aug-2015	SD
22-Jun-2015	B-/Negative/--
01-May-2015	SD
10-Apr-2015	CCC+/Negative/--
16-Jan-2015	B/Negative/--
07-Dec-2012	B/Stable/--
22-Oct-2012	B-/Watch Pos/--
25-Jun-2012	B-/Positive/--

Sanchez Energy Corp.

• US$1.15 billion 6.125% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2023
• US$400 million 7.25% first-lien notes due Feb. 15, 2023
• US$600 million 7.75% notes due June 15, 2021
• US$25 million first-lien guaranteed senior secured bank loan due Feb. 14, 2023

On Aug. 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Houston-based oil exploration and production company Sanchez Energy Corp. to 'D' from 'CC' following the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sanchez was in discussion with bondholders to restructure its debt. It engaged financial adviser Moelis & Co. LLC to explore strategic alternatives in December 2018 and deferred the coupon payment on its 2023 notes due July 15, 2019.

On Oct. 11, 2019, we withdrew our ratings on Sanchez Energy at the company's request.

Table 77

Sanchez Energy Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
11-Oct-2019	NR
12-Aug-2019	D
17-Jul-2019	CC/Negative/--
08-Nov-2018	CCC/Negative/--
06-Feb-2018	B/Stable/--
12-Apr-2017	B/Positive/--
13-Jan-2017	B/Watch Pos/--
09-Feb-2016	B/Negative/--
28-May-2015	B/Stable/--
23-May-2014	B/Positive/--
04-Mar-2014	B/Stable/--
04-Jun-2013	B-/Positive/--

Burger BossCo Intermediate Inc.

• US$192.5 million first-lien term bank loan due April 25, 2024
• US$25 million revolving bank loan due April 25, 2022

On Sept. 3, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Florida-based quick-service restaurant operator and franchisor Burger BossCo Intermediate Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC+' as the company converted the interest payments on its second-lien to payment-in-kind (PIK) from cash payments after executing an amendment to its first- and second-lien facilities. We considered this conversion tantamount to default because the PIK interest provided less than the original promise of the security.

Subsequently, on Sept. 5, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'SD', reflecting our view that despite the completion of the distressed exchange, the capital structure was unsustainable given the company's operating performance, weak liquidity, and very high leverage.

Table 78

Burger BossCo Intermediate Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
05-Sep-2019	CCC/Negative/--
03-Sep-2019	SD
11-Dec-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
10-Jul-2018	B-/Stable/--

Alta Mesa Resources Inc.

• US$500 million 7.875% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2024

On Sept. 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Texas-based oil and gas exploration and production company Alta Mesa Resources Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston courts. The company had been experiencing production shortfalls, which, combined with a challenging commodity price environment and a capital market that was highly constrained for energy companies, ultimately led to the bankruptcy filing. As a result, we lowered the issuer credit ratings on Alta Mesa Resources Inc. and Alta Mesa Holdings L.P., as well as the issue ratings on their debt obligations, to 'D'.

Later, on Nov. 18, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company at its request.

Table 79

Alta Mesa Resources Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
18-Nov-2019	NR
12-Sep-2019	D
4-Mar-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
27-Dec-2018	CCC+/Developing/--
17-Sep-2018	B/Negative/--

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

• US$1 billion 6.125% senior notes due Feb. 15, 2021
• US$1.05 billion 8.00% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2025
• US$1.1 billion 5.75% unsecured notes due March 15, 2023
• US$1.3 billion 8.00% notes due June 15, 2027
• US$400 million 7.50% callable notes due Oct. 1, 2026
• US$850 million 7.00% callable notes due Oct. 1, 2024
• US$918.514 million 8.00% notes due March 15, 2026
• US$700 million 6.875% notes due Feb. 1, 2025
• US$500 million 6.875% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$1.4 billion 6.625% senior notes due Aug. 15, 2020
• US$700 million 5.375% unsecured notes due June 15, 2021
• US$1.5 billion 4.875% senior notes due April 15, 2022
• US$1.25 billion 5.50% senior convertible due Sept. 15, 2026
• Reserve-based revolver due Sept. 12, 2023
• Reserve-based revolver due Dec. 19, 2021

On Sept. 13, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. to 'SD' from 'B+' after the company entered into a privately negotiated securities exchange agreement, whereby it agreed to exchange preferred stock and various amounts of unsecured notes maturing between 2022 and 2027 for equity at below par value. We viewed the transaction as distressed and tantamount to default based on the discounted trading levels of the securities prior to the announcement, the company's upcoming maturity schedule, high debt levels, and our expectation that it would outspend operating cash flow over at least the next two years.

Table 80

Chesapeake Energy Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
13-Sep-2019	SD
11-Feb-2019	B+/Stable/--
31-Oct-2018	B/Watch Pos/--
05-Mar-2018	B/Stable/--
20-Jan-2017	B-/Positive/--
06-Dec-2016	CCC+/Watch Pos/--
29-Sep-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
19-Sep-2016	SD
15-Aug-2016	CC/Negative/--
24-Jun-2016	CCC/Negative/--
09-Jun-2016	SD
19-May-2016	CCC/Negative/--
13-May-2016	SD
09-Feb-2016	CCC/Negative/--
25-Jan-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
22-Dec-2015	B/Negative/--
02-Oct-2015	BB-/Negative/--
30-Apr-2015	BB+/Negative/--
16-Jan-2015	BB+/Stable/--
16-Oct-2014	BB+/Positive/--

EP Energy LLC

• US$1 billion 7.75% notes due May 15, 2026
• US$1 billion 8.00% notes due Feb. 15, 2025
• US$500 million 8.00% senior notes due Nov. 29, 2024
• US$800 million 6.375% notes due June 15, 2023
• US$350 million 7.75% senior unsecured notes due Sept. 1, 2022
• US$2 billion 9.375% senior unsecured notes due May 1, 2020
• Reserve-based revolver due Nov. 23, 2021

On Sept. 17, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Houston-based EP Energy LLC to 'D' from 'CC' as the company failed to make a $40 million interest payment on its 1.5-lien senior secured notes due 2025, which constituted an event of default under the bond indenture and the credit agreement. The company failed to make the interest payment before the 30-day grace period expired because active discussions with some of the company's creditors were ongoing regarding its evaluation of strategic alternatives.

Table 81

EP Energy LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
17-Sep-2019	D
16-Aug-2019	CC/Negative/--
09-Apr-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
08-Jan-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
21-Dec-2017	SD
21-Nov-2017	CC/Negative/--
27-Jun-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
16-Jun-2017	B-/Negative/--
03-Jun-2016	B/Negative/--
09-Feb-2016	B/Stable/--
08-Jun-2012	BB-/Stable/--

Premiere Global Services Inc.

• US$665 million term loan bank loan due Dec. 8, 2021
• US$50 million revolver bank loan due Dec. 8, 2021

On Sept. 27, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Atlanta-based audio conference service provider Premiere Global Services Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' following the company's proposed amendment with its lender group that would push out the maturities of each of its debt tranches by two years, reduce the amortization requirements on its senior secured first-lien term loan, and allow the second-lien term loan to pay in kind.

Subsequently, on Oct. 11, 2019, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'D'. The upgrade followed our review of the company's credit profile subsequent to the execution of its agreement to amend its first- and second-lien facilities.

Table 82

Premiere Global Services Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
11-Oct-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
27-Sep-2019	SD
28-Dec-2018	CCC-/Negative/--
08-Oct-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
25-Apr-2018	B-/Negative/--
31-Oct-2017	B/Negative/--
18-Nov-2016	B/Stable/--
28-Jan-2016	B/Negative/--

Acosta Inc.

• US$33.5 million nonextending RCF bank loan due Sept. 26, 2019
• US$800 million 7.75% senior notes due Oct. 1, 2022
• US$2.065 billion term B-1 bank loan due Sept. 26, 2019
• US$143.4 million revolver bank loan due June 25, 2021

On Oct. 2, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Florida-based outsourced sales and marketing services company Acosta Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the company entered into a forbearance agreement with its extended revolver and term loan lenders.

Later, on Nov. 15, 2019, we downgraded the company to 'D' after it elected to miss interest payments on its term loan B and extended revolver that were due Oct. 31, 2019, and entered into a restructuring support agreement with creditors accounting for the majority of its bank and bond commitments.

Table 83

Acosta Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
15-Nov-2019	D
02-Oct-2019	SD
07-Feb-2019	CCC/Negative/--
22-Mar-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
28-Sep-2017	B-/Negative/--
01-Dec-2016	B/Negative/--
06-Aug-2014	B/Stable/--
29-Jul-2014	B+/Watch Neg/--
10-Mar-2011	B+/Stable/--

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.

• US$805 million first-lien term bank loan due Feb. 28, 2020
• US$75 million nonterm bank loan due Feb. 28, 2020
• US$73 million delayed draw term bank loan due Feb. 27, 2020
• US$115 million first-lien asset-based revolver due Nov. 20, 2019

On Oct. 3, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Delaware-based media and entertainment services company Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' following its filing for Chapter 11 protection to address its debt-heavy capital structure. Prior to bankruptcy, the company had pursued an out-of-court settlement to reorganize and exchange all of its existing first-lien term loan debt for 100% of the reorganized company.

On Aug. 5, 2019, we had lowered the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC-' from 'B-', citing significant refinancing risk. Subsequently, on Sept. 11, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CC' as the company announced it had entered into a restructuring support agreement with its term loan lenders that would reduce its debt load by more than half the outstanding amount ($782 million due February 2020).

Table 84

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
06-Nov-2019	NR
03-Oct-2019	D
10-Sep-2019	CC/Negative/--
05-Aug-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
24-Aug-2018	B-/Watch Neg/--
28-Oct-2015	B-/Stable/--
09-Oct-2014	CCC+/Negative/--
23-Sep-2014	CCC/Watch Pos/--
21-Aug-2014	CCC/Negative/--
10-Feb-2014	B/Stable/--
08-May-2013	CCC/Negative/--
14-Dec-2012	CCC+/Negative/--
20-Sep-2012	B-/Negative/--
31-Jul-2012	B-/Stable/--
06-Jan-2012	B/Stable/--
02-Dec-2011	B-/Watch Dev/--
29-Oct-2009	B-/Stable/--
01-Oct-2009	B-/Watch Pos/--
29-Oct-2008	B-/Stable/--
02-May-2008	B/Negative/--
13-Jan-2006	B/Stable/--

Medical Depot Holdings Inc.

• US$122.5 million first-lien bank loan due Jan. 3, 2023
• US$2.5 million revolver bank loan due Jan. 3, 2023
• US$167 million second-lien bank loan due Jan. 3, 2024
• US$167 million payment-in-kind 1.5-lien term bank loan due July 3, 2023

On Oct. 7, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New York-based medical equipment manufacturer and distributor Medical Depot Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CC' after the company completed a financing transaction in which it extended its revolver maturity, suspended first-lien debt amortization for six quarters, and exchanged second-lien debt for new convertible paid-in-kind loans.

Earlier, on Sept. 13, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'B-', citing cash flow deficits and tightening liquidity. Subsequently, on Sept. 24, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CC'.

On Oct. 15, 2019, upon completion of the distressed exchange, we raised the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'D'.

Table 85

Medical Depot Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
15-Oct-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
07-Oct-2019	D/--/--
23-Sep-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
12-Sep-2019	CCC/Negative/--
24-Jul-2017	B-/Negative/--
14-Nov-2016	B/Stable/--

Rite Aid Corp.

• US$300 million 7.70% debentures due Feb. 15, 2027
• US$150 million 6.875% debentures due Dec. 15, 2028
• US$1.8 billion 6.125% senior notes due April 1, 2023
• US$2.7 billion revolving bank loan due Dec. 31, 2023
• US$450 million term bank loan due Dec. 31, 2023

On Oct. 15, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Pennsylvania-based retail drug store chain Rite Aid Corp. to 'SD' from 'B-' after the company repurchased $84 million of the aggregate principal of its outstanding 2027 and 2028 unsecured notes at approximately 39% below par.

Earlier, on April 26, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'B-' from 'B', citing industry headwinds.

On Oct. 23, 2019, upon completion of the debt repurchase, we raised the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.

Table 86

Rite Aid Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
22-Oct-2019	CCC+/Stable/--
15-Oct-2019	SD
26-Apr-2019	B-/Negative/--
13-Aug-2018	B/Negative/--
19-Oct-2017	B/Stable/--
28-Oct-2015	B/Watch Pos/--
19-Mar-2015	B/Positive/--
30-Sep-2013	B/Stable/--
14-Jul-2009	B-/Stable/--
16-Oct-2008	B-/Negative/--
10-Jan-2008	B/Negative/--
08-May-2007	B/Stable/--
24-Aug-2006	B+/Watch Neg/--
12-Aug-2005	B+/Negative/--
23-Apr-2003	B+/Stable/--
14-Apr-2003	B/Watch Pos/--
09-May-2001	B/Positive/--
12-Jul-2000	B/Negative/--
24-May-2000	B/Developing/--
22-May-2000	B/Watch Neg/--
13-Jan-2000	B/Developing/--
22-Oct-1999	BB/Watch Neg/--
07-Oct-1999	BBB-/Watch Neg/--
22-Sep-1999	BBB/Watch Neg/--
14-Jun-1999	BBB/Stable/--
08-Apr-1999	BBB+/Watch Neg/--
22-Jul-1997	BBB+/Negative/--
30-Apr-1996	BBB+/Stable/--
30-Nov-1995	A-/Watch Neg/--
05-Apr-1995	A-/Stable/--
07-Feb-1994	A-/Negative/--
17-Oct-1990	A/Watch Neg/--
16-Oct-1990	A+/Stable/--
31-Mar-1988	A+/Negative/--
23-Oct-1984	A+
15-Feb-1978	A

CDR HRB Holdings Inc.

• US$250 million 8.875% senior notes due March 15, 2025

On Oct. 17, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit ratings on U.S.-based High Ridge Brands Co. and parent CDR HRB Holdings Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC-' after the company executed forbearance agreements with most of its debtholders prior to skipping the semiannual interest payment due on its $250 million 8.875% senior unsecured notes maturing March 15, 2025, and the principal and interest payments due on its unrated senior secured bank credit facility.

Earlier, on May 2, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC-' from 'CCC', citing an apparently unsustainable capital structure.

Later, on Nov. 18, 2019, we withdrew our issuer credit rating on the company.

Table 87

CDR HRB Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
18-Nov-2019	NR
17-Oct-2019	D/--/--
02-May-2019	CCC-/Negative/--
24-May-2018	CCC/Negative/--
29-Nov-2017	B-/Negative/--
25-May-2017	B/Negative/--
13-Mar-2017	B/Stable/--

Dura Automotive Systems LLC

On Oct. 17, 2019, Delaware-based automotive parts supplier Dura Automotive Systems LLC filed for Chapter 11.

This company has not been rated since April 5, 2007, when S&P Global Ratings withdrew its ratings on the company at its request.

Table 88

Dura Automotive Systems LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
05-Apr-2007	NR
16-Oct-2006	D
28-Jul-2006	CCC/Negative/--
09-Feb-2006	B-/Negative/--
18-Mar-2005	B/Negative/--
02-Nov-2004	B+/Negative/--
15-Sep-2004	BB-/Watch Neg/--
16-Oct-2003	BB-/Negative/--
09-Apr-1999	BB-/Stable/--

Destination Maternity Corp.

On Oct. 21, 2019, Philadelphia-based Destination Maternity Corp. filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

On Dec. 6, 2012, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn all ratings on the company at its request, including the 'B+' corporate credit rating and 'BB' term loan rating.

Table 89

Destination Maternity Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
06-Dec-2012	NR
12-Aug-2011	B+/Stable/--
10-Feb-2010	B/Stable/--
26-Aug-2009	B-/Positive/--
12-Jan-2009	B-/Stable/--
21-May-2008	B-/Negative/--
27-Nov-2007	B/Negative/--
29-Aug-2007	B/Stable/--
14-Dec-2006	B/Positive/--
19-May-2006	B-/Positive/--
10-Oct-2005	B-/Negative/--
29-Nov-2004	B/Negative/--
03-Sep-2004	B+/Negative/--
14-Apr-2004	B+/Stable/--
26-Jun-2002	B+/Positive/--
27-Feb-2001	B+/Stable/--
04-Mar-1999	B/Positive/--
23-Apr-1997	B/Negative/--
15-Oct-1996	B+/Watch Neg/--
17-Jul-1995	B+/Negative/--

Foresight Energy L.P.

• US$825 million first-lien term bank loan due March 28, 2022
• US$170 million revolver bank loan due March 26, 2021
• US$425 million 11.50% second-lien notes due April 1, 2023

On Oct. 31, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Florida-based coal company Foresight Energy L.P. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the company missed an interest payment on its 11.50% second-lien senior secured notes due 2023 within the 30-day grace period, which expired on Oct. 31, 2019.

Earlier, on June 21, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'B-', reflecting our view of a possible impending distressed exchange. Subsequently, on Oct. 2, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CCC-'.

Table 90

Foresight Energy L.P.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
31-Oct-2019	SD
02-Oct-2019	CCC-/Watch Neg/--
20-Jun-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
01-Mar-2017	B-/Stable/--
21-Sep-2016	B-/Negative/--
17-Mar-2016	D
19-Feb-2016	CCC-/Negative/--
18-Dec-2015	CCC/Watch Dev/--
14-Oct-2014	B+/Stable/--
07-Aug-2013	B/Stable/--
31-May-2013	B/Positive/--
23-May-2012	B/Stable/--
26-Oct-2011	B-/Watch Dev/--
04-Aug-2010	B-/Positive/--

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.

• US$212.5 million 5.00% term bank loan due Jan. 29, 2027
• US$90.59 million 13.50% notes due Feb. 1, 2026
• US$90.12 million 5.00% notes due Feb. 1, 2040
• US$400 million 10.50% senior secured notes due July 15, 2024
• US$440 million 10.00% senior secured notes due July 15, 2022
• US$75 million 9.50% first-lien notes due Nov. 15, 2020
• US$250 million 8.00% notes due Nov. 1, 2019
• US$53.2 million 2.00% notes due Nov. 1, 2021
• US$141.8 million 5.00% notes due Nov. 1, 2021

On Nov. 6, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit ratings on New Jersey-based residential homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, K. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., to 'SD' from 'CCC+' after the companies completed a debt exchange whereby holders of the 10.5% senior secured notes partially exchanged the debt for 7.75% 1.125-lien notes, 11.25% 1.5-lien notes, and cash--an exchange we viewed as distressed.

Table 91

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
06-Nov-2019	SD
06-Jul-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
06-Apr-2018	CC/Negative/--
06-Feb-2018	CCC+/Stable/--
30-Jan-2018	SD
08-Jan-2018	CC/Watch Neg/--
03-May-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
23-Apr-2013	B-/Stable/--
05-Nov-2012	CCC+/Stable/--
19-Sep-2012	CCC-/Watch Pos/--
27-Jul-2012	CCC-/Positive/--
03-Nov-2011	CCC-/Negative/--
02-Nov-2011	SD
05-Oct-2011	CC/Negative/--
28-Jun-2011	CCC/Negative/--
14-Sep-2010	CCC+/Negative/--
05-Oct-2009	CCC+/Developing/--
01-Apr-2009	CCC/Negative/--
04-Mar-2009	B-/Watch Neg/--
05-Dec-2008	B-/Negative/--
05-Dec-2008	SD
30-Oct-2008	B-/Watch Neg/--
15-Feb-2008	B-/Negative/--
16-Jan-2008	B+/Watch Neg/--
21-Nov-2007	B+/Negative/--
15-Aug-2007	BB-/Negative/--
24-May-2007	BB/Negative/--
10-Nov-2006	BB/Stable/--
28-Apr-2004	BB/Positive/--
01-May-2003	BB/Stable/--
06-Mar-2003	BB-/Positive/--
14-Apr-1998	BB-/Stable/--
03-Apr-1998	BB-/Negative/--

Dean Foods Co.

• US$700 million 6.50% senior notes due March 15, 2023

On Nov. 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Texas-based food and beverage company Dean Foods Co. to 'SD' from 'CCC-' after the company filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Earlier, on Feb. 1, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'B-' from 'B+' after the company announced that it was in discussions to refinance its revolving credit facility following an agreement with its receivable purchase agreement lender to waive the financial covenant requiring Dean Foods to maintain a total net leverage ratio below 4.25x for the period ended Dec. 31, 2018. Subsequently, on March 5, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CCC+'.

Table 92

Dean Foods Co.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
12-Nov-2019	D
05-Mar-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
01-Feb-2019	B-/Watch Neg/--
21-Nov-2018	B+/Negative/--
09-Nov-2017	BB-/Stable/--
10-May-2017	BB/Stable/--
14-Mar-2016	BB-/Positive/--
23-Jul-2014	BB-/Stable/--
10-Aug-2012	B+/Positive/--
20-Mar-2012	B+/Stable/--
22-Feb-2011	B+/Negative/--
09-Dec-2010	B+/Stable/--
02-Dec-2010	B+/Negative/--
13-May-2010	BB-/Negative/--
08-May-2009	BB-/Stable/--
23-Dec-2008	BB-/Negative/--
19-Jun-2008	BB-/Watch Neg/--
03-Oct-2007	BB-/Negative/--
27-Aug-2007	BB/Negative/--
02-Mar-2007	BB/Stable/--
04-Nov-2005	BB+/Stable/--
22-Jul-2003	BB+/Positive/--
02-Jun-2003	BB+/Watch Pos/--
06-Nov-2002	BB+/Stable/--
05-Apr-2001	BB+/Negative/--
08-Nov-1999	BB+/Stable/--
08-Nov-1999	BB+
22-Sep-1999	BB+/Watch Neg/--
18-Mar-1998	BB+/Stable/--

APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC

• US$25 million A-1 term bank loan due May 31, 2025
• US$143 million B term bank loan due May 31, 2024
• US$25 million A-3 term bank loan due May 31, 2025
• US$155 million A-2 term bank loan due May 31, 2025
• US$315 million floating-rate first-lien term bank loan due May 10, 2024

On Nov. 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Colorado-based auto part manufacturer APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC to 'SD' from 'CC' after the company completed an exchange offer for its first-lien term loan, exchanging the existing 2024 loan for a mix of longer-tenor term loans A and a term loan B.

Earlier, on Sept. 18, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'CCC+' after the company reported second-quarter results that showed continuing margin declines, negative free cash flow, and a larger-than-expected draw on its asset-backed lending facility revolver. Subsequently, on Nov. 5, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CC'.

On Nov. 19, 2019, upon completion of the exchange offer for the first-lien term loan, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'SD'.

Table 93

APC Automotive Technologies Intermediate Holdings LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
18-Nov-2019	CCC/Negative/--
13-Nov-2019	SD
05-Nov-2019	CC/Negative/--
18-Sep-2019	CCC/Negative/--
14-May-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
12-Dec-2018	CCC+/Developing/--
01-Jun-2018	B-/Negative/--
24-Apr-2017	B/Stable/--

IPC Corp.

• US$132.052 million floating-rate lien term bank loan due Aug. 6, 2021
• US$293 million floating-rate term bank loan due Aug. 6, 2021
• EUR29 million notes due Aug. 6, 2021
• GBP66 million notes due Aug. 6, 2021
• US$610 million first-lien term bank loan due Aug. 6, 2021
• US$305 million floating-rate second-lien bank loan due Feb. 6, 2022
• US$25 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due Feb. 6, 2020

On Nov. 14, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on New Jersey-based global trading communication systems, compliance solutions, and network services provider IPC Corp. to 'SD' from 'CC' as the company executed an amendment with its second-lien lenders.

Earlier, on Jan. 15, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'B-' after the company's operating and financial performance continued to decline. Subsequently, on July 3, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CC'.

On Nov. 27, 2019, upon completion of the exchange offer for the first-lien term loan, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.

Table 94

IPC Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
26-Nov-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
14-Nov-2019	SD
03-Jul-2019	CC/Watch Neg/--
14-Jan-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
19-Mar-2018	B-/Stable/--
12-Jun-2017	B-/Negative/--
23-Feb-2017	B/Watch Neg/--
07-Jan-2015	B/Stable/--

Approach Resources Inc.

• US$325 million term first-lien guaranteed senior secured due May 7, 2020
• US$250 million 7.00% senior unsecured notes due June 15, 2021

On Oct. 21, 2019, Fort Worth, Texas-based exploration and production company Approach Resources Inc. initiated proceedings for its bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

On May 31, 2017, S&P Global Ratings had withdrawn the corporate credit and debt ratings on Approach Resources Inc. at the company's request.

Table 95

Approach Resources Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
30-May-2017	NR
25-Apr-2017	CCC+/Stable/--
27-Jan-2017	SD
03-Nov-2016	CC/Negative/--
09-Feb-2016	CCC+/Negative/--
03-Jun-2013	B/Stable/--

Bumble Bee Parent Inc.

On Nov. 21, 2019, California-based seafood products company Bumble Bee Parent Inc. filed for Chapter 11.

This company has not been rated since Sept. 15, 2017, when S&P Global Ratings withdrew its 'CCC+' corporate credit rating on the company upon repayment of the existing notes after the company's bondholder notice period.

Table 96

Bumble Bee Parent Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
15-Sep-2017	NR
21-Aug-2017	CCC+/Stable/--
07-Mar-2017	CCC/Negative/--
15-Nov-2016	B-/Watch Neg/--
07-Mar-2011	B/Stable/--
01-Dec-2010	B+/Negative/--
06-Aug-2010	B+/Watch Neg/--
04-Dec-2009	B+/Stable/--

Community Health Systems Inc.

• US$699.924 million 8.00% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2027
• US$1.7 billion 6.875% senior notes due April 1, 2028
• US$2.08 billion 8.00% notes due Dec. 31, 2016
• US$1.027 billion 8.125% notes due Dec. 31, 2024
• US$1.77 billion junior-priority notes due June 30, 2023
• US$1.355 billion 8.125% junior-priority notes due June 30, 2024
• US$2 billion 8.00% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2019
• US$3.1 billion 6.25% senior notes due March 31, 2023
• US$1 billion term G bank loan due Dec. 31, 2019
• US$3.5 billion term H bank loan due Jan. 27, 2021
• US$3 billion 6.875% senior unsecured notes due Feb. 1, 2022
• US$1 billion 5.125% senior secured notes due Aug. 1, 2021
• US$1.2 billion 7.125% senior unsecured notes due July 15, 2020

On Nov. 25, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Tennessee-based health care services provider Community Health Systems Inc. to 'SD' from 'CC' after the company completed new debt offerings to exchange unsecured notes due 2022 for new senior secured notes due 2027 and new unsecured notes due 2028.

Earlier, on Oct. 31, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CC' from 'CCC+' after the company announced a proposed exchange offer for its unsecured notes due 2022, offering to exchange the existing 2022 notes for a mix of new senior secured and senior unsecured notes of longer tenor.

On Nov. 27, 2019, upon completion of the distressed exchange that addressed most of its debt due in 2022, S&P Global Ratings raised the issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.

Table 97

Community Health Systems Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
27-Nov-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
25-Nov-2019	SD
31-Oct-2019	CC/Negative/--
28-Jun-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
26-Jun-2018	SD
21-Jun-2018	CC/Negative/--
09-May-2018	CCC-/Watch Neg/--
14-Mar-2018	CCC+/Negative/--
04-Aug-2017	B-/Stable/--
31-Oct-2016	B/Negative/--
08-Aug-2016	B/Stable/--
09-Nov-2015	B+/Negative/--
29-Jan-2015	B+/Stable/--
31-Jul-2013	B+/Negative/--
26-Jul-2007	B+/Stable/--
20-Mar-2007	BB-/Watch Neg/--
15-Dec-2006	BB-/Stable/--
22-Sep-2005	BB-/Positive/--
20-Jun-2002	BB-/Stable/--
28-Sep-2001	B+/Stable/--

AAC Holdings Inc.

• US$55 million floating-rate revolver bank loan due June 30, 2022
• US$275 million floating-rate term B bank loan due June 30, 2022
• US$30 million term first-lien guaranteed senior secured due April 15, 2020

On Nov. 25, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Nevada-based substance use treatment service provider AAC Holdings Inc. to 'SD' from 'CCC' after the company's third-quarter reports indicated it failed to make the mandatory $3.4 million debt amortization payment due Sept. 30, 2019.

Earlier, on March 15, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'B-' on higher risk of a debt restructuring.

Table 98

AAC Holdings Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
25-Nov-2019	SD
15-Mar-2019	CCC/Negative/--
09-Nov-2018	B-/Negative/--
06-Jun-2017	B-/Positive/--

Indra Holdings Corp.

• US$245 million floating-rate first-lien bank loan due 2021

On Dec. 4, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Ohio-based apparel and accessories manufacturer Indra Holdings Corp. to 'D' from 'CCC' after the company did not make the Oct. 31, 2019, interest and principal payments on its first- and second-lien term loans because it entered into a restructuring support agreement with its current lenders to right-size its capital structure.

Earlier, on May 13, 2019, we had lowered our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'CCC+' on deteriorating liquidity.

On Dec. 4, 2019, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its issuer credit rating on the company.

Table 99

Indra Holdings Corp.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
04-Dec-2019	NR
04-Dec-2019	D
13-May-2019	CCC/Negative/--
02-Nov-2017	CCC+/Negative/--
10-Jan-2017	CCC+/Stable/--
29-May-2015	B-/Stable/--
15-Apr-2014	B/Stable/--

Tapstone Energy LLC

• US$300 million 9.75% senior notes due June 1, 2022

On Dec. 6, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Oklahoma-based oil and gas exploration and production company Tapstone Energy LLC to 'D' from 'CCC+' after the company elected to use the 30-day grace period expiring Jan. 1, 2020, for the coupon payment on its 9.75% senior unsecured notes due 2022.

Earlier, on April 26, 2019, S&P Global Ratings had lowered its issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'B-' on free cash flow outspend and liquidity constraints.

Table 100

Tapstone Energy LLC--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
10-Dec-2019	D/--/--
26-Apr-2019	CCC+/Negative/--
26-Apr-2018	B-/Stable/--
03-May-2017	B-/Positive/--

4L Technologies Inc.

• US$760 million floating-rate term bank loan due May 8, 2020

On Dec. 12, 2019, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on Illinois-based imaging supplies remanufacturer 4L Technologies Inc. to 'D' from 'CCC' after the company entered into a restructuring support agreement with a group of lenders holding more than 67% of its long-term debt, expected to be implemented through a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. On Dec. 16, 2019, the company filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Earlier, on March 21, 2019, we had raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from 'B-' on debt reduction and senior secured credit facilities extension. Subsequently, on July 17, 2019, we lowered the rating to 'CCC' on likely debt restructuring.

Table 101

4L Technologies Inc.--Issuer Credit Rating History
Date	To
12-Dec-2019	D/--/--
16-Jul-2019	CCC/Watch Neg/--
21-Mar-2019	B/Stable/--
06-Oct-2017	B-/Stable/--
26-Oct-2016	B/Stable/--
12-Dec-2014	B+/Negative/--
03-Apr-2014	B+/Stable/--

Related Research

• 2019 Annual Global Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study, April 29, 2020

Ratings Performance Analytics:	Nick W Kraemer, FRM, New York (1) 212-438-1698; nick.kraemer@spglobal.com
	Evan M Gunter, New York (1) 212-438-6412; evan.gunter@spglobal.com
	Jon Palmer, CFA, New York; jon.palmer@spglobal.com
Research Contributors:	Nivritti Mishra Richhariya, CRISIL Global Analytical Center, an S&P Global Ratings affiliate, Mumbai
	Lyndon Fernandes, CRISIL Global Analytical Center, an S&P affiliate, Mumbai