Telus 2006 Annual Report Download - page 33

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Institution Rating Outlook
Fitch “BBB” ratings indicate that there is currently
expectation of low credit risk. The capacity
for payment of financial commitments is
considered adequate but adverse changes
in circumstances and economic conditions
are more likely to impair this capacity. This
is the lowest investment grade category.
The modifiers "+" or "-" may be appended to
ratings “AA” to “CCC” to denote relative
status within major rating categories.
An Outlook indicates the direction a rating is
likely to move over a one to two-year
period. Outlooks may be positive, stable or
negative. A positive or negative Rating
Outlook does not imply a rating change is
inevitable. Similarly, ratings for which
outlooks are 'stable' could be upgraded or
downgraded before an outlook moves to
positive or negative if circumstances
warrant such an action.
DBRS Long-term debt rated "A" is of satisfactory
credit quality. Protection of interest and
principal is still substantial, but the degree of
strength is less than that of AA rated
entities.
While "A" is a respectable rating, entities in
this category are considered to be more
susceptible to adverse economic conditions
and have greater cyclical tendencies than
higher-rated securities.
Long-term debt rated “BBB” is of adequate
credit quality. Protection of interest and
principal is considered acceptable, but the
entity is fairly susceptible to adverse
changes in financial and economic
conditions, or there may be other adverse
conditions present which reduce the
strength of the entity and its rated securities.
The ratings from “AA” to “C” are denoted by
the subcategories "high" and "low". The
absence of either a "high" or "low"
designation indicates the rating is in the
"middle" of the category.
DBRS’ short-term debt rating scale is meant
Each DBRS rating category is appended
with one of three rating trends - "Positive",
"Stable", or "Negative". The rating trend
helps to give the investor an understanding
of DBRS's opinion regarding the outlook for
the rating in question. However, the investor
must not assume that a positive or negative
trend necessarily indicates that a rating
change is imminent.
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