S&P downgrades Countrywide Financial to 'BB+/B'
2:20 PM ET, May 02, 2008 - By Sue Chang
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) --
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Friday it lowered ratings on Countrywide Financial Corp. and Countrywide Home Loans Inc. to BB+/B from BBB+/A-2. The move was due to the disclosure from Bank of America Thursday that there is no assurance that any of Countrywide's debt will be "redeemed, assumed, or guaranteed" after their pending merger, according to the ratings agency. All of Countrywide's ratings are on CreditWatch Developing due to the uncertainty over the legal status of Countrywide's creditors after the union. Any rating below 'BBB' is deemed "not investment grade" by S&P.
not a good thing
