Moody's meaning

Moody’s refers in legal practice to Moody’s Investors Service, a global credit rating agency whose credit ratings are routinely cited in UK and Irish financing (including loan agreements), capital markets and securitisation documents to indicate the credit quality of issuers, counterparties and debt instruments. This is a descriptive market term, not a statutory definition; legislation and regulation generally refer to “credit rating agencies” rather than naming Moody’s. In drafting, “Moody’s” or a “Moody’s rating” usually means the long- or short-term ratings issued by Moody’s Investors Service (for example, Aaa to C; P-1 to NP). These ratings commonly set investment grade thresholds, downgrade or ratings‑trigger events, eligibility criteria, step‑up or step‑down coupons, collateral haircuts and termination events, and are often paired with “Equivalent Ratings” across agencies. Regulatory supervision differs by jurisdiction: in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Moody’s UK entity is registered and supervised by the FCA under the onshored UK Credit Rating Agencies Regulation; in Ireland, supervision sits with ESMA under Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009. Contract usage is otherwise broadly consistent across these jurisdictions. Transaction documents typically define “Moody’s” expressly (including relevant affiliates or successors) and include fallbacks if a rating is withdrawn, suspended or Moody’s ceases to be a...