B2/B

B2/B is a common bond credit rating combining S&P (B2), and Moody’s (B), for each, the highest rating assigned to a non-investment grade security or carrier. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s provide credit rating services for bond issuers, financial firms and other entities, as do other agencies such as Fitch and A.M. Best which focuses on the insurance industry.

B2/B represents that the security or carrier is not creditworthy enough to be considered as an investment, and is therefore considered speculative. Bond ratings are used by investors or policy owners as a guide to the relative risk of different securities or issuers and investors are typically taking a higher level of risk with bonds rated below investment grade.

The ratings assigned by the various ratings agencies are based primarily upon the insurer's or issuer's creditworthiness. This rating can, therefore, be interpreted as a measure of the probability of default. However, credit stability and priority of payment are also factored into the rating.