Bond credit ratings
Bond ratings are a measure of a bond’s creditworthiness — this essentially means how likely it is that the borrower will pay you back. They're issued privately by rating agencies like Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, and can help investors gauge the riskiness of a bond investment. Investment-grade bonds are assigned 'AAA' to 'BBB-' ratings from Standard & Poor's and Fitch, and 'Aaa' to 'Baa3' ratings from Moody’s.
Bonds with lower ratings are known as junk bonds or high-yield bonds. The higher the bond's rating, the lower the typical interest rate, due to the lower risk. Alternatively, the opposite applies to bonds with low ratings.
At Revolut, we provide Fitch ratings. The definitions for each rating can be found in-app for each bond which is rated.
To access these definitions:
- Tap on the bond
- Scroll down to 'Fitch ratings'
- Tap on 'See all'