March Credit Update: Pre-Virus Financial Upgrades Outweigh Downgrades

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Credit Benchmark has published the latest monthly credit consensus data (from February 2020) based on contributions from 40+ financial institutions, covering 50,000 separate legal entities.

The monthly upgrades and downgrades overview is now based on data adjusted for changes in contributor mix.

Monthly consensus upgrades and downgrades:

• 360 obligors improved their credit standing by at least one notch.
• 266 obligors deteriorated.
• 69 moved more than one notch.
• The frequency of upgrades and downgrades has decreased.

Last month showed improvements across 331 obligors and deterioration across 333, with 66 moving by more than one notch.

Industries:

• Upgrades dominate downgrades in just one of the ten reported industries and four out of ten have more downgrades.

• Financials shows an improvement in credit quality with 65 upgrades and 49 downgrades.

• The industries showing deteriorations are:
  • Basic Materials with 7 upgrades and 15 downgrades.
  • Oil & Gas with 10 upgrades and 22 downgrades.
  • Technology with 7 upgrades and 17 downgrades.

Note: Monthly upgrade / downgrade movement is based on 26,000 individual Consensus PDs.

To learn more about consensus ratings and analytics from Credit Benchmark, email [email protected].

Disclaimer: Credit Benchmark does not solicit any action based upon this report, which is not to be construed as an invitation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. This report is not intended to provide personal investment advice and it does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of a particular person who may read this report.