Standard & Poor's said the potential number of downgrades again declined slightly in August, though banks showed the highest propensity for downgrades.
The ratings agency defines "potential downgrades" as entities with a negative outlook or ratings on watch for downgrade for ratings between triple-A, the highest credit rating, and B-minus, the lowest rating before highly speculative.
For August, S&P said issuers poised for downgrade fell to 955 from 965.
The tally is 208 issuers more than a year earlier and 22 higher than the trailing 12-month average.
In terms of downgrade potential, banks were closely followed by sectors such as media and entertainment, consumer products and transportation.
