Upgrades slightly outpaced downgrades in the second quarter, according to the latest data on global credit ratings from Fitch Ratings.
The rating agency reports that the share of global corporate finance issuers that were downgraded in the second quarter of 2014 came in at 2.2%, which was slightly lower than the proportion that were upgraded in the quarter, 2.4%.
“Spain’s sovereign upgrade lifted several Spanish banks (and international subsidiaries),” Fitch notes, adding that the overall European downgrade-to-upgrade ratio “equalized at one to one for the first time since late 2012.”
“Financial institution rating activity was largely positive in the second quarter,” Fitch reports, as just 1.7% of issuers faced downgrades, less than half the share that were upgraded (3.4%). Moreover, it says this reversed the negative rating drift that occurred in the prior quarter, when downgrades outpaced upgrades, 2.6% to 2%.
In emerging markets, financial institution downgrades declined quarter over quarter, to 3.3% in Q2 from 4.8% in the first quarter, and upgrades climbed to 3.5% from 1.3% over the same period. In developed markets, the downgrade to upgrade ratio also improved from the prior quarter.
Yet, industrials saw more downgrades than upgrades globally; and this was true across both advanced economies and emerging markets, Fitch says.
At the end of June, the proportion of global corporate finance issuers with a negative outlook edged lower to 12% from 13% in March. And, positive outlooks improved to 6% from 5%.