Bond Ratings
Before a bond is issued, it is rated according to its creditworthiness. How creditworthy a bond is depends mostly on how creditworthy the issuing company is, based on an assessment of the likelihood that the issuer may default on its debt payments. Private ratings services such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Services, and Fitch Ratings are hired by the issuing company to assess the financial strength of the company. Their evaluation of the company’s ability to pay a bond’s principal and interest in a timely fashion will determine the bond’s coupon rate. The higher the ratings service’s grade, the lower the perceived risk