06-03-15
Fixed Income Part Two - Understanding Credit Ratings
Credit ratings are an opinion on the ability and willingness of an issuer to meet its financial obligations on time and in full. Ratings serve an important function in capital markets and, as such, are regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) through the Office of Credit Ratings. That office currently recognizes ten agencies in the U.S. as Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) which assign ratings to various issuers of debt, and can include corporations, municipalities and other issuers.