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Rating Trigger: Definition & Meaning | Bondfish

What it means

A rating trigger links a bond’s legal terms to the issuer’s credit rating. The trigger is written into the prospectus or indenture and fires when a named agency — S&P, Moody’s, Fitch, or the EU-based Scope Ratings — moves the rating past an agreed level, such as the loss of investment-grade status.

When it fires, one of a few things typically happens: the coupon steps up so investors earn more to hold a now-riskier bond; the issuer must post extra collateral; the debt is accelerated (becomes repayable sooner); or bondholders gain a put right to sell the bond back. A very common version is the double-trigger change-of-control clause — found across European investment-grade and high-yield issues — where a takeover plus a downgrade lets holders sell their bonds back to the issuer, usually at 101% of face value. Many step-up clauses also “fall away”: the coupon steps back down if the rating recovers.

Why it matters for bond investors

A rating trigger cuts both ways. As protection, it can hand you a higher coupon or a clean exit exactly when an issuer’s credit is deteriorating. But collateral and acceleration triggers pull the other way: forcing a stressed company to post cash or repay early can worsen its liquidity and speed up the very default the rating downgrade was warning about — a dynamic that amplified the 2008 crisis. Before buying, read the bond’s terms to see whether any rating triggers exist, what rating level sets them off, and who benefits. If you want to compare bonds by rating and yield in the first place, start with the Bondfish bond screener.

Example

A European utility issues a bond with a 4.00% coupon and a rating-trigger step-up of 25 basis points for each notch it is downgraded below BBB−. If the issuer later loses investment grade and is cut two notches to BB, the coupon steps up:

4.00% + (2 × 0.25%) = 4.50% new coupon

Related terms

This definition is for general information only and is not investment advice. Bond investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.