Ford Becomes Largest Fallen Angel After S&P’s Cut to Junk

  • Credit rater drops the automaker’s debt into speculative grade
  • CDS protection tied to the company has soared amid outbreak

Photographer: Jim R. Bounds/Bloomberg

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Ford Motor Co. was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings as the coronavirus pandemic delivers a shock to the global auto industry and renders the carmaker the largest fallen angel to date.

S&P downgraded Ford’s credit rating one notch to BB+ and may cut it further, according to a statementBloomberg Terminal. The move follows Moody’s Investors Service, which dropped its rating for the second time in six months earlier Wednesday. The automaker’s two high-yield ratings will remove its $35.8 billion of debt from the Bloomberg Barclays investment-grade index at the end of the month.