Does the US have a AAA credit rating? (2024)

Does the US have a AAA credit rating?

As of Aug. 1, the U.S. Treasury owed $32.6 trillion, both to bondholders and other parts of the federal government. That's part of the reason that Fitch

cut the U.S. government's long-term creditworthiness by one notch, from AAA – its highest rating – to AA+.

Does the US still have a AAA credit rating?

Home / Economy / Articles / What is the US credit rating, and what does its downgrade mean? On August 1, 2023, Fitch Ratings, one of the country's three major credit rating agencies, announced that it had downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+.

Is AAA a good credit rating?

The S&P and Fitch AAA ratings are the highest assigned to any debt issuer. An AAA rating is the equivalent of the Aaa rating issued by Moody's. AAA ratings are issued to investment-grade debt that has a high level of creditworthiness with the strongest capacity to repay investors.

What is the AAA credit rating?

Highest credit quality

'AAA' ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

How many times has the US lost its AAA rating?

After its initial rating cut on July 16, 2011, from AAA to AA+, Egan-Jones cut its rating a second time on April 5, 2012, from AA+ to AA "because of the lack of any tangible progress on addressing the problems and the continued rise in debt to GDP." On September 14, 2012, Egan-Jones cut its rating a third time from AA ...

Why did the US lose its AAA credit rating?

As of Aug. 1, the U.S. Treasury owed $32.6 trillion, both to bondholders and other parts of the federal government. That's part of the reason that Fitch cut the U.S. government's long-term creditworthiness by one notch, from AAA – its highest rating – to AA+.

Does the US have a credit rating?

A negative assessment can impact stock prices and interest rates on consumer financial products. Moody's still assigns the U.S. its highest AAA credit rating, though it's the only one of the three main rating agencies to do so. In August, Fitch Rating downgraded the government's long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+.

When did the US lose its AAA credit rating?

2011 Standard & Poor's Downgrade

Previous Downgrade: On August 5, 2011, S&P lowered its U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+.

Do any companies have AAA credit rating?

Just two companies in the S&P 500, Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Microsoft MSFT, maintain their AAA credit ratings from S&P, per an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.

Which country has AAA credit rating?

Some of the top examples include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and Hong Kong. These are all countries that generally carry a credit rating of AAA.

Is AAA better than AA credit rating?

S&P ratings are issued to long-term issuers of credit and insurance companies on a letter-based scale. The first rating is AAA, while the second highest is AA. Anything that falls in the A class is considered high quality, and the debt issuer has a strong likelihood of meeting its financial obligations.

How many companies in the world have AAA credit rating?

Today, just two publicly traded companies have been bestowed with the AAA credit rating by Standard &Poor's.

What two companies have AAA rating?

Namely Johnson and Johnson and Microsoft. To better understand why only two companies are rated AAA, we must adequately comprehend the prerequisites of getting such a rating.

What is China's credit rating?

While it lowered its ratings to negative outlook from "stable", indicating a downgrade is possible over the medium term, Fitch affirmed China's issuer default rating at 'A+', its third-highest category. S&P, the other major global rating agency, also rates China A+, the equivalent of Moody's current A1 rating.

Which country has the best credit rating?

Economies with the highest credit rating at S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody's Investors Service include Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Australia. Canada is rated AAA by two of the ratings companies.

Who owns the majority of the U.S. debt?

The largest holder of U.S. debt is the U.S government. Which agencies own the most Treasury notes, bills, and bonds? Social Security, by a long shot. The U.S. Treasury publishes this information in its monthly Treasury statement.

How many companies in US have AAA credit rating?

Currently there are only two companies in the United States with an AAA credit rating: Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson.

How much debt is the US in?

The $34 trillion gross federal debt equals debt held by the public plus debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts. In very basic terms, this can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself. Learn more about different ways to measure our national debt.

Has the U.S. debt ever been downgraded?

The first downgrade took place in 2011, when credit rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the US credit rating from AAA to AA+, following a rancorous debate in Congress over the size of the debt.

What is the US credit rating now?

What is a perfect credit score in USA?

A perfect FICO credit score is 850, but experts tell CNBC Select you don't need to hit that target to qualify for the best credit cards, loans or interest rates.

What is AAA S&P rating?

AAA: An obligor rated 'AAA' has extremely strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. 'AAA' is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by Standard & Poor's. AA: An obligor rated 'AA' has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated obligors only to a small degree.

Why did US get downgraded?

Regarding the downgrading of the US' long-term credit rating, Fitch explained that the “repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management” and that “the government lacks a medium-term fiscal framework, unlike most peers, and has a complex budgeting process.”

What would happen if the US credit rating went down?

If U.S. debt grows and the government struggles to address it, consumers could face higher interest rates for loans since the nation and its borrowers would be deemed less trustworthy, they added. That would mean higher costs for borrowing for everything from credit cards to mortgages to cars.

What is the credit rating of a Tesla?

Moody's Investors Service on Monday became the second credit ratings firm to endow Tesla with investment-grade status, upgrading the Austin-based firm's credit score by one notch to Baa3.