History of S&P Global Ratings in Timeline

S&P Global Ratings is a major American credit rating agency and a division of S&P Global. It's recognized as the largest of the "Big Three" credit-rating agencies, alongside Moody's and Fitch. The agency focuses on financial research and analysis, providing ratings and insights on stocks, bonds, and commodities. Its headquarters is located in New York City. S&P's ratings are widely used by investors and institutions to assess credit risk and make informed investment decisions, playing a vital role in the global 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 5-by-7-inch cards for more frequent updates compared to annually published books.

1922: Publication of The Outlook Began

Since 1922, S&P has published The Outlook, a weekly investment advisory newsletter for individuals and professional investors.

1941: Merger to Form Standard & Poor's Corp.

In 1941, Paul Talbot Babson acquired Poor's Publishing and merged it with Standard Statistics, resulting in the creation of Standard & Poor's Corp.

1966: Acquisition by McGraw-Hill Companies

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

1975: France Last Held AAA Rating

Prior to the downgrade by S&P on January 13, 2012, 1975 was the last time France's AAA rating was downgraded

2000: Issuance of 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 and were non-public.

2005: S&P Stopped Issuing CGS

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

2006: Creation of Rembrandt 2006-3 CPDO

In 2006, S&P rated the Rembrandt 2006-3 CPDO AAA, which was later found to be misleading.

2007: Real Estate Bubble Burst

In 2007, the real estate bubble burst, causing many loans to default and leading to staggering losses for investors in AAA-rated CDOs.

2008: Contribution to the 2008 Financial Crisis

In 2008, credit rating agencies like S&P were cited for contributing to the financial crisis by giving AAA ratings to risky pools of loans in the 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 perceived as interference; they later stated they were "misunderstood".

November 2009: European Commission Charges S&P with Abusing 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 by requiring European financial firms and data vendors to pay licensing fees.

August 5, 2011: Downgrading of US's Sovereign Long-Term Credit Rating

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

November 11, 2011: Erroneous Announcement of France's Rating Cut

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

2011: Acknowledgement of Error in Downgrade Justification

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

2011: Discontinuation of Stand-Alone Governance Scores

In 2011, S&P stopped providing stand-alone governance scores, but continued to incorporate governance analysis in global and local scale 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+, the first time since 1975 that France had been downgraded, and also downgraded eight other European countries.

November 2012: Publication of Criteria for Evaluating Management and Governance Credit Factors

In November 2012, S&P published its criteria for evaluating management and governance credit factors for insurers and non-financial enterprises, which are used as a component in assessing overall creditworthiness.

November 2012: Federal Court of Australia Ruling on Rembrandt 2006-3 CPDO Rating

In November 2012, the Federal Court of Australia found that S&P's AAA rating of the Rembrandt 2006-2 and 2006-3 CPDO notes was misleading and deceptive, involving negligent misrepresentations to potential investors.

April 15, 2013: Order 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: Justice Department Charged S&P with Fraud

In 2013, the Justice Department filed a $5 billion lawsuit against Standard & Poor's for fraud, U.S. v. McGraw-Hill Cos et al., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 13-00779, which led to speculation about retaliation for a downgrade.

2015: Settlement of Lawsuits over Inaccurate Ratings

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

2021: Projected US Net General Government Debt Level

In 2021, the U.S. net general government debt level was projected to be $20.1 trillion (85% of 2021 GDP) with current assumptions, and $22.1 trillion (93% of 2021 GDP) with original assumptions.