Fitch Ratings, Ltd. is an international credit rating agency dual-headquartered in New York City and London. It was one of the three Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975, together with Moody's and Standard & Poor's. A.M. Best and Dominion Bond Rating Service have subsequently joined those three as NRSROs. A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types of debt obligations. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations is a United States government designation that was created by Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975 to allow federal regulatory oversight of credit rating organizations. ... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, commonly referred to as the SEC, is the United States governing body which has primary responsibility for overseeing the regulation of the securities industry. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Moodys Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the holding company for Moodys Investors Service which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. ... Publications Standard & Poors publishes a weekly (48 times a year) stock market analysis newsletter called The Outlook, which is issued both in print and online to subscribers. ... A.M. Best Company, Inc. ... Dominion Bond Rating Service is a credit rating agency based in Toronto, Ontario. ...

The firm was founded by John Knowles Fitch on December 24, 1913 in New York City as the Fitch Publishing Company. It merged with London-based IBCA Limited in December 1997, and is majority-owned by Fimalac (From Wikipedia.fr: Fimalac), a Paris, France-based holding company. In 2000 Fitch acquired both Chicago, Illinois-based Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. (April) and Thomson BankWatch (December). Fitch is the smallest of the "big three" NRSROs, covering a smaller share of the market than S&P and Moody's, though it has grown with acquisitions and frequently positions itself as a "tie-breaker" when those other two agencies have ratings similar, but not equal, in scale. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (359th in leap years). ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... New York, NY redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ...

Stephen W. Joynt is Chief Executive Officer of Fitch Group, Inc., the parent company of Fitch Ratings, Algorithmics and Fitch Training. Joynt also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Algorithmics, Inc. and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Fitch Ratings.

Long-Term Credit Ratings

Fitch's long-term credit ratings are set up along a scale from 'AAA' to 'D', first introduced in 1924 and later adopted by S&P. Moody's also uses a similar scale, but names the categories differently. Like S&P, Fitch also uses intermediate modifiers for each category between AA and CCC (i.e., AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, BBB+, BBB, BBB- etc.).

Investment Grade

• AAA  : the best quality companies, reliable and stable
• AA  : quality companies, a bit higher risk than AAA
• A  : economic situation can affect finance
• BBB  : medium class companies, which are satisfactory at the moment

Non-Investment Grade (also known as junk bonds) High yield debt (non-investment grade or junk bond) is a business term referring to a corporate debt instrument, usually a bond, that has a higher yield (compared to investment grade debt) because of a high perceived credit risk (default risk). ...

• BB  : more prone to changes in the economy
• B  : financial situation varies noticeably
• CCC  : currently vulnerable and dependent on favorable economic conditions to meet its commitments
• CC  : highly vulnerable, very speculative bonds
• C  : highly vulnerable, perhaps in bankruptcy or in arrears but still continuing to pay out on obligations
• D  : has defaulted on obligations and Fitch believes that it will generally default on most or all obligations
• NR  : not publicly rated

Short-Term Credit Ratings

Fitch's short-term ratings indicate the potential level of default within a 12-month period.

• F1+  : best quality grade, indicating exceptionally strong capacity of obligor to meet its financial commitment
• F1  : best quality grade, indicating strong capacity of obligor to meet its financial commitment
• F2  : good quality grade with satisfactory capacity of obligor to meet its financial commitment
• F3  : fair quality grade with adequate capacity of obligor to meet its financial commitment but near term adverse conditions could impact the obligor's commitments
• B  : of speculative nature and obligor has minimal capacity to meet its commitment and vulnerability to short term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions
• C  : possibility of default is high and the financial commitment of the obligor are dependent upon sustained, favourable business and economic conditions
• D  : the obligor is in default as it has failed on its financial commitments.

See also

• Standard & Poor's
• Moody's
• A.M. Best
• Dominion Bond Rating Service
• Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
• Reuters
• Bloomberg L.P.
• Morningstar, Inc.

Publications Standard & Poors publishes a weekly (48 times a year) stock market analysis newsletter called The Outlook, which is issued both in print and online to subscribers. ... Moodys Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the holding company for Moodys Investors Service which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. ... A.M. Best Company, Inc. ... Dominion Bond Rating Service is a credit rating agency based in Toronto, Ontario. ... Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations is a United States government designation that was created by Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975 to allow federal regulatory oversight of credit rating organizations. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... Bloomberg L.P. is a financial software service company founded by current New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg with the help of Thomas Secunda in 1981. ... Morningstar, Inc. ...

External links

• Fitch Ratings
• Fitch Training
• Credit Raters Exert International Influence (washingtonpost.com)
• RSS Feed of Most Recent Fitch Press Releases
• U.S. Credit: Fitch Ratings