What Does a Downgrade Mean?

En español | Q. We all know now that Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating on Aug. 5. Just what is Standard and Poor's and how does it do its work?

A. Standard & Poor's, usually called S&P, is a large rating agency entrusted with the job of giving investors honest, unbiased views of the creditworthiness of big borrowers. The borrower might be a company or a government, but the basic question is the same: Will the debt be repaid?

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Q. How does the agency come up with an answer?

A. Suppose a power company decides to issue bonds to finance construction of a new generating plant. Bonds are essentially just IOUs — the company is borrowing money not from a bank but from the people who buy the bonds. It's promising to pay them a certain interest rate for a period of time and repay them in full at the end.

As preparations for the new bond issue proceed, analysts from a rating agency get busy. They look at the company's revenues and expenses, at its record in paying past debts. Much of their work involves raw numbers, but they also make judgment calls — are the company's managers up to the job, is there strong demand for the electricity that the plant will generate? When they're done, they issue a rating for those bonds.

Q. So how important is that rating?

A. Very important, because it will play a big part in determining what interest rate the company will pay to people who buy its bonds. A high rating means that the rating agency believes the power company is very likely to pay its debts. That means low risk, and a generally low interest rate.

If the credit rating is low, the power company will generally have to pay a high rate of interest, to compensate for the higher risk that investors may not get their money back at all.

A low rating is bad for business, of course — if the interest rate is too high, the company may not be able to borrow and build the plant.

As the project progresses, the rating agency may change the rating if it feels that circumstances have changed.

Q. How does this work with governments?

A. Pretty much the same. To raise money for general spending or specific projects, governments issue bonds that promise interest payments to the people or other governments who buy them. Credit rating analysts look at the issuer's tax revenues and its expenditures. They look at its economy and system of political decision-making and come up with a rating that can influence interest rates.

That's why the S&P decision to downgrade the U.S. rating from AAA to AA+ caused such a stir. It could mean the U.S. government will have to begin paying higher interest rates, a burden that is ultimately shouldered by American taxpayers.

Q. So when will the higher interest rates begin?

A. It's hard to say — and there's always the chance that the downgrade will have no real impact on interest rates. People who buy U.S. government bonds could decide that, whatever S&P may say, they still have full confidence in the bonds and are willing to continue accepting the low interest rates.

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