Standard & Poor's (S&P) warns that there may be more credit downgrades in store for businesses all over the world, and financial institutions are at the top of the list.
The US ratings agency notes that the number of firms it has listed for potential downgrades jumped from 621 in August to 633 in September 2015. The company says that it has not seen this kind of activity since 2010.
The report suggests that these potential bond downgrades are looming in both emerging and developed markets, including the United States and Europe. It singles out the financial sector as particularly problematic.
"Financial institutions lead the way with 146 issuers, 51 of which are based in the U.S.," says Diane Vazza, head of S&P'S Global Fixed Income Research Group. "We removed 51 issuers from our potential bond downgrades list and added 63, of which 34 are in the U.S. There were 62 downgrades in September, of which 25 remain on the list."