|
Rating Description
|
|
Rating by Rating Organization |
|
INVESTMENT GRADE
|
| Highest credit quality with minimal risk of default. Extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments. |
|
| AM Best |
aaa |
| DBRS |
AAA |
| Fitch |
AAA |
| Moody’s |
Aaa |
| S&P |
AAA |
|
| Superior to very high credit quality and very low risk of default. Very strong capacity to meet financial commitments. |
|
| AM Best |
aa |
| DBRS |
AA |
| Fitch |
AA |
| Moody’s |
Aa |
| S&P |
AA |
|
| High to upper-medium credit quality with some risk factors that could contribute to default. Bonds in this category are still considered to be in little danger of default risk. |
|
| AM Best |
a |
| DBRS |
A |
| Fitch |
A |
| Moody’s |
A |
| S&P |
A |
|
| Adequate to medium credit quality, with acceptable levels of risk. Could be susceptible to default risk in the long term, or there may be other adverse conditions present which reduce credit quality. |
|
| AM Best |
bbb |
| DBRS |
BBB |
| Fitch |
BBB |
| Moody’s |
Baa |
| S&P |
BBB |
|
|
NON-INVESTMENT GRADE
|
| Questionable to speculative financial security, with additional factors that may contribute to default, such as ability to meet debt obligations, especially during periods of economic recession. |
|
| AM Best |
bb |
| DBRS |
BB |
| Fitch |
BB |
| Moody’s |
Ba |
| S&P |
BB |
|
| Speculative to highly speculative financial security, with low expectation that issuer will meet debt obligations. |
|
| AM Best |
b |
| DBRS |
B |
| Fitch |
B |
| Moody’s |
B |
| S&P |
B |
|
| Very highly speculative with high risk of default. |
|
| AM Best |
ccc |
| DBRS |
CCC |
| Fitch |
CCC |
| Moody’s |
Ca |
| S&P |
CCC |
|
| Very highly speculative with danger of default, or default probable, or may have recently occurred. |
|
| AM Best |
cc |
| DBRS |
CC |
| Fitch |
CC |
| Moody’s |
Caa |
| S&P |
CC |
|
| Very highly speculative, often accompanied by bankruptcy petitions; default immanent or has recently occurred. |
|
| AM Best |
c |
| DBRS |
C |
| Fitch |
C+,C,C- |
| Moody’s |
C |
| S&P |
C+,C,C- |
|
| Default and/or in arrears. Issuer has not met scheduled payment of interest or principal or made clear it will miss such payments. |
|
| AM Best |
d |
| DBRS |
D |
| Fitch |
D |
| Moody’s |
N/A |
| S&P |
D |
|
