American Corporate Credit Card Ratings

The credit card rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities such as bonds. These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's, Moody's or Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA, B, CC. The Standard & Poor's rating scale is as follows, from excellent to poor: AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C, D. Anything lower than a BBB rating is considered a speculative or junk bond. The Moody's rating system is similar in concept but the naming is a little different. It is as follows, from excellent to poor: AAA, Aa1, Aa2, Aa3, A1, A2, A3, Baa1, Baa2, Baa3, Ba1, Ba2, Ba3, B1, B2, B3, Caa1, Caa2, Caa3, Ca, C. A.M. Best rates from excellent to poor in the following manner: A++, A+, A, A-, B++, B+, B, B-, C++, C+, C, C-, D, E, F, and S.