S&P ups Ford

Standard & Poor's said it raised the corporate credit rating on Ford Motor Co. and Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC to B+ from B-, along with the counterparty credit rating on FCE Bank plc to BB- from B, maintaining the one-notch rating differential between FCE Bank and its parent. The agency also said it raised the rating on Ford's senior secured debt issues to BB from B- and revised the recovery rating to 1 from 3, indicating an expectation of 90% to 100% recovery in a default. It also raised the rating on Ford's unsecured debt to B from CCC and revised the recovery rating to 5 from 6, indicating an expectation of 10% to 30% recovery in a default.

The outlook is positive.

The upgrade reflects a reassessment of Ford's business risk profile to weak from vulnerable, S&P said, and its financial risk profile to aggressive from highly leveraged.

The positive outlook reflects a view that there is at least a one-in-three chance that it could raise Ford's corporate credit rating in the next 12 months, the agency said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.