Fitch Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating As Fed Fumes

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the US issuer default rating (IDR) to AA+ from AAA even as the country ceiling was affirmed at AAA, the rating watch negative was removed and a stable outlook assigned on August 1, 2023.

Photo Insert: The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management.

The rating downgrade of the US reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance relative to AA and AAA-rated peers over the last two decades that has manifested in repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions, Fitch Ratings added in its London announcement.

In Fitch's view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters, notwithstanding the June bipartisan agreement to suspend the debt limit until January 2025.

The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management.

In addition, the government lacks a medium-term fiscal framework, unlike most peers, and has a complex budgeting process. The Federal Reserve immediately reacted to the Fitch credit downgrade, saying “It was arbitrary.

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