DBRS Revises Sovereign Methodology with Scorecard and Debt Sustainability Analysis

DBRS has today released an updated methodology for rating sovereign governments. DBRS has taken no rating actions as a result of the updated methodology, and does not expect any changes to its sovereign ratings as a result of adopting the revised methodology. The methodology was submitted for public consultation on August 7, 2013 and no responses were received. The new methodology replaces the previous sovereign methodology, Rating Sovereign Governments, May 18, 2011. The new methodology is applied to all ratings effective September 30, 2013.

The purpose of this methodology is to provide market participants with additional insight into the rationale behind DBRS’s rating opinions in a transparent manner. New elements published in the methodology are a scorecard approach for assessing sovereign credits and a debt sustainability analysis framework.

The methodology is titled Rating Sovereign Governments, which can be found on the DBRS website under Methodologies.