Oct 9 - Moody's Investors Service has today announced a change in the
mapping between its global scale credit ratings and its national scale ratings
for South Africa. The revision takes into consideration Moody's decision on 27
September 2012 to lower South Africa's local currency ceiling to A1 on the
global scale. The new
mapping enables what is now the highest possible attainable rating on the
global scale to translate to the highest possible rating on the national
scale.
Moody's uses national scale ratings to rank credits within certain
domestic markets. National scale ratings are intended as relative
measures of creditworthiness within a narrowly defined peer group.
Moody's global scale ratings, on the other hand, are measures of
creditworthiness within the full universe of Moody's-rated entities.
In order to maintain consistency between national scale rating levels and
globally comparable expected loss characteristics, Moody's uses a mapping
schema to establish the relationship between globally comparable ratings
and their equivalent re-expression on a national scale. By their nature,
national scale rating mappings are subject to change.
The new mapping schema differs from the previous schema in just one
respect: Previously a Aa3 global scale rating was required to obtain a
Aaa.za rating on the national scale, whereas now a A1 global scale rating
may be sufficient to obtain a Aaa.za.
The principal methodology governing Moody's national scale ratings,
"Mapping Moody's National Scale Ratings to Global Scale Ratings," was
re-published today to reflect the change to the mapping for South Africa.
Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this
methodology.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS ONLY: For more information, please call one of our
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Kenneth Emery
Senior Vice President
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Richard Cantor
Chief Risk Officer
Credit Policy
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
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