Sovereigns Group

The Fitch Ratings Sovereigns Groupprovides credit research and opinion on more than 80 countries and assigns ratings to the foreign and local currency debt of sovereign governments that account for approximately 95% of sovereign international debt issuance. The Sovereign Ratings Group provides investors with timely and insightful credit research and opinion, while the Group's 18 analysts with a broad range of experience in private and public sectors based in London, New York and Hong Kong are accessible to investors across the globe. The Sovereign Group hosts teleconferences, seminars and conferences in the world's major financial centers, as well as providing regular and timely commentary on key sovereign and country credit issues. The sovereign foreign currency rating is a key input into the credit risk assessment of all other entities and transactions rated in its jurisdiction. The Sovereign Group works closely with other analytical groups at Fitch to achieve a comprehensive and rigorous risk assessment.

The sovereigns rating methodology draws on modern instances of default and near-default to identify a range of key indicators of debt payment capacity and willingness - quantitative and qualitative - to assess and monitor sovereign creditworthiness in a consistent fashion across countries and over time. A comprehensive analysis of public and external accounts, structural strengths and weaknesses of the economy and the political and social constraints faced by the national authorities are central to the Fitch sovereign rating approach, underpinned by rigorous and data rich research available to clients.

Coverage

The Sovereign Group maintains public credit ratings on more than 80 sovereign governments and their international and local debt issues:

> Long-term Foreign Currency Debt Rating
> Short-term Foreign Currency Debt Rating
> Local Currency Debt Rating
> Country Ceiling Ratings

A subscription provides access to:

> All annually updated Sovereign Credit Analysis and Credit Update reports.
> Regular and timely research commentary on sovereign credit developments.
> Semi-annual Sovereign Comparator; an Excel accessible database of key financial, economic and sovereign credit indicators for all rated sovereigns.
> Access to sovereign analysts in London, New York and Hong Kong.