Standard & Poor's is a global leader in providing ratings and credit-related services for sovereign, sovereign-supported entities and supranational issuers. Our public sector coverage extends to local and regional governments, as well as to the healtcare, higher education and housing sectors around the world.
We are the leading rating agency in terms of rated sovereigns, and local and regional governments worldwide. Our network of offices around the globe enable our regionally-based analysts to gain valuable local insights into the governments they rate. We provide our clients with timely and insightful credit opinions and commentaries, and have expanded our research capabilities with a range of special reports and scenario analysis in order to meet the growing demand of global investors. We have an active outreach program with issuers and investors, which is vital to our business of providing value-added ratings and research for the market. In recent years, we have seen a growth in new rating mandates from countries and regions that view ratings as a means to attract foreign direct investment. In turn, this has highlighted the importance of Standard & Poor's credit ratings and opinions, as investors seek our independent and valued expertise in new frontiers.
