单选题

The credit rating agency practice of "notching" is best described as（）。

A、 assigning different ratings to different debt issues from the sameissuer.
B、 downgrading or upgrading the rating of a debt issue or issuer byone increment.
C、 adding a plus or minus sign to a rating to indicate a positive ornegative outlook.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】

"Notching" refers to the credit rating agency practice of assigning ratings to debt issues that differ from the issuer's credit rating. An issuer credit rating applies to a firm's senior unsecured debt. Debt issues with different seniority or covenants may be notched to a higher or lower issue credit rating.