Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) announced Monday that it has implemented some significant ratings actions in relation to one of the nation’s government-sponsored enterprises, Freddie Mac.

In a press release, S&P said “it revised its outlook on its ‘AA-’ risk to the government, subordinated debt, and preferred stock ratings on Freddie Mac to negative from stable.” The company added, “At the same time, we affirmed our ‘AAA’ senior secured and senior unsecured debt ratings on Freddie Mac. The outlook on these ratings is stable.”
When weighing in, Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Victoria Wagner is quoted as saying, “The negative outlook on the risk to the government rating, subordinated debt, and preferred stock ratings reflects the weaker earnings and the outlook for lower earnings in the near-to-immediate term given the continued high degree of GAAP earnings volatility, primarily driven by accounting mark-to-market standards.”