RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Credit Rating and Corporate Defaults
JF The Journal of Fixed Income
FD Institutional Investor Journals
SP 30
OP 40
DO 10.3905/jfi.2001.319303
VO 11
IS 3
A1 Chunsheng Zhou
YR 2001
UL https://pm-research.com/content/11/3/30.abstract
AB Moody's default data from 1971 through 2000 indicate that default rates have been on the rise across almost every major rating category since the early 1970s, stopping only in the early 1990s. This evidence is consistent with the widespread belief among practitioners that the credit quality of U.S. corporate debt has worsened in the recent past. The result challenges the perception that credit ratings provide reliable guidance to fixed-income investments and has important implications for risk management and credit pricing.