Sovereign-Rating Change Flurry Seen Amid New Rules
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Regulations designed to restrict changes of opinion by credit-rating companies are triggering a flurry of rulings on euro-area nations as their year-end introduction approaches.
Standard & Poor’s stripped the Netherlands of its AAA status last week for the first time, while raising its grade for Cyprus and adjusting its outlook on Spain. Fitch Ratings raised its outlook on Spain’s BBB rating to stable from negative on Nov. 1, and Portugal’s outlook was revised to stable from negative by Moody’s Investors Service on Nov. 8. Moody’s also improved Greece’s ranking by two levels on Nov. 29.