List of Major Credit Rating Agencies
1. Moody’s Investors Service: Founded in 1914 by John Moody, Moody’s is one of the oldest and most well-known credit rating agencies globally. It provides credit ratings, research, and risk analysis for a wide range of entities and securities, including government bonds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, structured finance products, and more. Moody’s ratings are denoted by letter grades ranging from Aaa (highest quality) to C (lowest quality), with additional modifiers and outlooks to provide further insight into credit risk.
2. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings: Standard & Poor’s traces its roots back to the formation of Standard Statistics Company in 1916. In the 1940s, it merged with Poor’s Publishing to form Standard & Poor’s Corporation. S&P Global Ratings is a division of S&P Global, providing credit ratings, research, and analytics for a diverse range of issuers and securities worldwide. Like Moody’s, S&P ratings are represented by letter grades, with AAA being the highest rating and D indicating default.
3. Fitch Ratings: Fitch Ratings was founded in 1913 by John Knowles Fitch and is one of the “Big Three” credit rating agencies globally. Fitch provides credit ratings, research, and analysis for governments, corporations, financial institutions, insurance companies, and structured finance products. Fitch’s credit ratings also use a letter grading system, with AAA as the highest rating and D representing default.
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