Investor Relations

About Credit Ratings

General
A credit rating or a stability rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the credit rating organization. Credit ratings and outlooks provided by the rating agencies reflect their views and are subject to change from time to time, based on a number of factors, including factors not entirely within Central 1’s control, including the methodologies used by the rating agencies and conditions affecting the industries in which Central 1 operates generally.

Central 1 has made payments in the ordinary course to ratings agencies referred to below in connection with the assignment of ratings on the securities of the Central 1. In addition, Central 1 has made customary payments in respect of certain other services provided to Central 1 by some or all of the applicable rating agencies during the last two years.

Description of DBRS ratings*
The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All rating categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories “(high)” and “(low)”. The absence of either a “(high)” or “(low)” designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category. According to the DBRS rating system, debt securities rated “A” are of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of these financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. These obligations may be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.

=The DBRS short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the subcategories “(high)”, “(middle)”, and “(low)”. According to the DBRS rating system, debt securities rated R-1(middle) are of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of these short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. This rating differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.

Description of Fitch ratings*
According to Fitch’s description of its Issuer Default Rating (IDR) rating scale, IDRs opine on an entity’s relative vulnerability to default (including by way of a distressed debt exchange) on financial obligations. According to Fitch, an A: High credit quality rating on this scale denotes expectation of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial instruments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. According to Fitch, a BBB: Good credit quality rating indicates that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. Fitch may use modifiers “+” or “-” to denote relative status within major ratings categories.

According to Fitch’s description of its short-term issuer or obligation rating scale, such ratings are based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. According to Fitch a rating of F1: Highest Short-Term Credit Quality indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

Information as of November 26, 2019.

*Descriptions of ratings are summaries only based on certain information provided by applicable ratings agencies on their public websites as of the date noted above and should not be construed as the views of Central 1. For detailed information, please refer to each of the respective rating agency’s public website or other information provided by ratings agencies.