The Big 3
Three agencies dominate the global credit rating market: S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings. Together they account for the vast majority of public bond ratings worldwide and are the primary reference for institutional debt investors. The summaries below focus on positioning, product reach, and geographic coverage. For the analytical framework each agency uses, see the Methodologies section.
S&P Global Ratings
Largest by issued ratings on long-term debt
- Founded
- 1860 (predecessor Poor's Publishing); current entity formed 1941
- Scale
- Largest of the three by volume of issued long-term debt ratings
- Product focus
- Corporate, financial institutions, sovereigns, structured finance, public finance, insurance, infrastructure
- Geographic reach
- Global — deep coverage across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and emerging markets
Moody's Investors Service
Comparable scale to S&P; particularly strong in fixed-income research
- Founded
- 1909 by John Moody
- Scale
- Comparable to S&P; particularly strong franchise in fixed-income credit research
- Product focus
- Corporate, structured finance, public finance, sovereigns and sub-sovereigns, financial institutions, insurance
- Geographic reach
- Global — strong franchise across North America and Europe; growing presence in Asia
Fitch Ratings
Third of the Big 3 — positioned as the tie-breaker in split-rated situations
- Founded
- 1914 (Fitch Publishing Company)
- Scale
- Third of the Big 3 by volume; valued as a second opinion and tie-breaker
- Product focus
- Corporate, financial institutions, sovereigns, structured finance, infrastructure & project finance, insurance
- Geographic reach
- Global — particular depth in Europe and emerging markets