A credit rating is like a grade given to a person, business, or even a country, that says how likely that person is to make payments on a loan as promised. Credit ratings for people are called credit scores and are maintained by credit bureaus like Experian and TransUnion. Credit rating agencies like Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s give ratings to companies and countries that tell investors how safe it is to buy their securities, like bonds or stocks.

Tags: credit rating, credit score