History of S&P Global Ratings in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: April 8, 2026

S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global, is a major American credit rating agency. As one of the "Big Three" rating agencies alongside Moody's and Fitch, it provides financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. The company is headquartered in New York City and plays a significant role in assessing creditworthiness and influencing financial markets.

1906: Standard Statistics Bureau Founded

In 1906, Luther Lee Blake established the Standard Statistics Bureau to offer financial data on non-railroad companies, utilizing regularly updated 5-by-7-inch cards instead of an annual publication.

1922: Publication of The Outlook

Since 1922, S&P has continuously published The Outlook, a weekly investment advisory newsletter.

1941: Standard & Poor's Corp. Formed

In 1941, Paul Talbot Babson acquired Poor's Publishing and merged it with Standard Statistics, creating Standard & Poor's Corp.

1966: Acquisition by McGraw-Hill Companies

In 1966, The McGraw-Hill Companies acquired Standard & Poor's Corp., expanding into financial information services.

1975: France's AAA Rating Before Downgrade

Prior to January 13, 2012, France held a AAA rating since 1975, before S&P downgraded it to AA+.

2000: Issuing Corporate Governance Scores (CGS)

In 2000, S&P began issuing Corporate Governance Scores (CGS) to assess the corporate governance practices of public U.S. corporations, assigned at the request of the company.

2005: S&P Stopped Issuing CGS

In 2005, S&P discontinued issuing Corporate Governance Scores (CGS).

2006: S&P Rated Rembrandt 2006 CPDO AAA

In 2006, S&P rated the Rembrandt 2006-3 CPDO AAA, a rating later found to be misleading by the Federal Court of Australia in November 2012.

2007: Real Estate Bubble Burst

In 2007, the real estate bubble burst, leading to many bad loans and investors experiencing losses on AAA-rated CDOs.

2008: S&P's Contribution to the 2008 Financial Crisis

In 2008, S&P, along with other credit rating agencies, was cited for contributing to the financial crisis. AAA ratings were given to risky pools of loans in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market.

April 2009: Call for "New Faces" in Irish Government

In April 2009, S&P called for "new faces" in the Irish government, which was seen as interfering in the democratic process, leading to a subsequent clarification.

November 2009: European Commission Charged S&P with Abuse of Position

In November 2009, the European Commission formally charged S&P with abusing its position as the sole provider of international securities identification codes for United States of America securities.

August 5, 2011: S&P Downgraded US's Sovereign Long-Term Credit Rating

On August 5, 2011, S&P lowered the United States' sovereign long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+ following the enactment of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

November 11, 2011: S&P Erroneously Announced Cut of France's Triple-A Rating

On November 11, 2011, S&P erroneously announced the cut of France's triple-A rating (AAA), leading to calls for increased regulation.

2011: Acknowledgment of Trillion-Dollar Error

In 2011, S&P acknowledged making a US$2 trillion error in its justification for downgrading the United States' credit rating, but stated that it "had no impact on the rating decision".

2011: S&P Discontinued Stand-Alone Governance Scores

In 2011, S&P stopped providing stand-alone governance scores, but continued governance analysis in credit ratings.

January 13, 2012: S&P Downgraded France's AAA Rating

On January 13, 2012, S&P downgraded France's AAA rating to AA+, marking the first downgrade since 1975. S&P also downgraded the rating of eight other European countries: Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Cyprus.

November 2012: Criteria Published for Evaluating Insurers and Non-Financial Enterprises' Management and Governance Credit Factors

In November 2012, S&P published its criteria for evaluating insurers and non-financial enterprises' management and governance credit factors, which became a component in assessing overall creditworthiness. Scoring of management and governance is made on a scale of weak, fair, satisfactory or strong.

November 2012: Ruling Against S&P in Australian Federal Court

In November 2012, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that S&P's AAA rating of the Rembrandt 2006-2 and 2006-3 CPDO notes was misleading and deceptive.

April 15, 2013: Justice Department Ordered to Grant S&P Access to Evidence

On April 15, 2013, the Department of Justice was ordered to grant S&P access to evidence in the fraud case.

2013: Fraud Charges by Justice Department

In 2013, the Justice Department charged Standard & Poor's with fraud in a $5 billion lawsuit, leading to speculation about retaliation for a previous downgrade.

2015: Settlement of Lawsuits

In 2015, Standard and Poor's paid $1.5 billion to the U.S. Justice Department, various state governments, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System to settle lawsuits asserting its inaccurate ratings defrauded investors.