Credit Ratings - Paydex

The D&B Rating

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The following information can be found from the D&B Website http://www.dnb.com/us/customer_service/paydex_tables.html

D&B Rating, PAYDEX®, and Score Tables - United States

D&B Rating Interpretation Table
D&B Score Interpretation Table
D&B PAYDEX Value Table
Financial Stress Score
Commercial Credit Score

Click here to view scores and ratings tables for businesses outside the United States.

D&B Rating Interpretation Table

The US 5A to HH ratings reflect company size based on net worth or equity as computed by D&B. These ratings are assigned to businesses that have supplied D&B with current financial information.

The 1R and 2R ratings categories reflect company size based on the total number of employees for the business. They are assigned to business files that do not contain a current financial statement. For 5A to HH Ratings, the Composite Credit Appraisal is a number between 1 and 4 that makes up the second half of the company's Rating and reflects an overall assessment of creditworthiness. Our creditworthiness assessment is based on both payments and financial stability. In 1R and 2R Ratings, the 2, 3, or 4 creditworthiness indicator is based on analysis by D&B of public filings, trade payments, business age and other important factors. 2 is the highest Composite Credit Appraisal a company not supplying D&B with current financial information can receive.

Financial Strength		Composite Credit Appraisal
Rating	US$	High	Good	Fair	Limited
5A	50,000,000 and over	1	2	3	4
4A	10,000,000 to 49,999,999	1	2	3	4
3A	1,000,000 to 9,999,999	1	2	3	4
2A	750,000 to 999,999	1	2	3	4
1A	500,000 to 749,999	1	2	3	4
BA	300,000 to 499,999	1	2	3	4
BB	200,000 to 299,999	1	2	3	4
CB	125,000 to 199,999	1	2	3	4
CC	75,000 to 124,999	1	2	3	4
DC	50,000 to 74,999	1	2	3	4
DD	35,000 to 49,999	1	2	3	4
EE	20,000 to 34,999	1	2	3	4
FF	10,000 to 19,999	1	2	3	4
GG	5,000 to 9,999	1	2	3	4
HH	Up to 4,999	1	2	3	4

Rating Classification		Composite Credit Appraisal
Rating	Number of Employees	High	Good	Fair	Limited
1R	10 employees and over		2	3	4
2R	1 to 9		2	3	4

Alternative Ratings Used
INV	Indicates that D&B is currently conducting an investigation to gather information for a new report.
DS	Indicates that the information available does not permit D&B to classify the company within our rating key.
-- (blank)	The blank symbol should not be interpreted as indicating that credit should be denied. It simply means that the information available to D&B does not permit us to classify the company within our rating key and that further enquiry should be made before reaching a decision. Some reasons for using a "-" symbol include: deficit net worth, bankruptcy proceedings, lack of insufficient payment information, or incomplete history information.
ER	Certain lines of business, primarily banks, insurance companies and government entities do not lend themselves to classification under the D&B Rating system. Instead, we assign these types of businesses an Employee range symbol based on the number of people employed. No other significance should be attached to this symbol. ERN should not be interpreted negatively. It simply means we do not have information indicating how many people are employed at this firm.
NQ	Not Quoted. This is generally assigned when a business has been confirmed as no longer active at the location, or when D & B is unable to confirm active operations. It may also appear on some branch reports, when the branch is located in the same city as the headquarters.

US Employee Range Designation
ER1	1000 or more employees
ER2	500 to 999 employees
ER3	100 to 499 employees
ER4	50 to 99 employees
ER5	20 to 49 employees
ER6	10 to 19 employees
ER7	5 to 9 employees
ER8	1 to 4 employees
ERN	Not Available

D&B Score Interpretation Table
D&B Score Interpretation Table
D&B PAYDEX Score		Payment Habit
100		Anticipate
90		Discount
80		Prompt
70		15 days beyond terms
60		22 days beyond terms
50		30 days beyond terms
40		60 days beyond terms
30		90 days beyond terms
20		120 days beyond terms
UN		Unavailable

D&B PAYDEX Value Table

PAYDEX Value Chart
PAYDEX	Average Days to Pay
100	30 days sooner than terms
99	29 days sooner than terms
98	28 days sooner than terms
97	27 days sooner than terms
96	26 days sooner than terms
95	25 days sooner than terms
94	24 days sooner than terms
93	23 days sooner than terms
92	22 days sooner than terms
91	21 days sooner than terms
90	20 days sooner than terms
89	18 days sooner than terms
88	16 days sooner than terms
87	14 days sooner than terms
86	12 days sooner than terms
85	10 days sooner than terms
84	8 days sooner than terms
83	6 days sooner than terms
82	4 days sooner than terms
81	2 days sooner than terms
80	ON TERMS
79	2 days beyond terms
78	3 days beyond terms
77	5 days beyond terms
76	6 days beyond terms
75	8 days beyond terms
74	9 days beyond terms
73	11 days beyond terms
72	12 days beyond terms
71	14 days beyond terms
70	15 days beyond terms
69	16 days beyond terms
68	17 days beyond terms
67	18 days beyond terms
66	19 days beyond terms
65	19 days beyond terms
64	19 days beyond tenns
63	20 days beyond terms
62	21 days beyond terms
61	22 days beyond terms
60	22 days beyond terms
59	23 days beyond terms
58	24 days beyond terms
57	25 days beyond terms
56	26 days beyond terms
55	26 days beyond terms
54	27 days beyond terms
53	28 days beyond terms
52	29 days beyond terms
51	29 days beyone terms
50	30 days beyond terms
49	33 days beyond terms
48	36 days beyond terms
47	39 days beyond terms
46	42 days beyond terms
45	45 days beyond terms
44	48 days beyond terms
43	51 days beyond terms
42	54 days beyond terms
41	57 days beyond terms
40	60 days beyond terms
39	63 days beyond terms
38	66 days beyond terms
37	69 days beyond terms
36	72 days beyond terms
35	75 days beyond terms
34	78 days beyond terms
33	81 days beyond terms
32	84 days beyond terms
31	87 days beyond terms
30	90 days beyond terms
29	93 days beyond terms
28	96 days beyond terms
27	99 days beyond terms
26	102 days beyond terms
25	105 days beyond terms
24	108 days beyond terms
23	111 days beyond terms
22	114 days beyond terms
21	117 days beyond terms
20	120 days beyond terms
1 to 19	Over 120 days beyond terms

Financial Stress Score

The Financial Stress model predicts the likelihood of a firm ceasing business without paying all creditors in full, or reorganizing or obtaining relief from creditors under state/federal law over the next twelve months. Scores were calculated using a statistically valid model derived from D&B's extensive data files.

Financial Stress Score
Financial Stress Class	Financial Stress Score Range	Percentile Score Range	Incidence of Financial Stress
1	1377-1875	21-100	0.49%
2	1353-1376	11-20	1.37%
3	1303-1352	5-10	3.73%
4	1225-1302	2-4	8.30%
5	1001-1224	1	35.80%

"0" generally denotes indication of open bankruptcy or out of business at the location. "0"may also denote higher risk situations.

The Incidence of Financial Stress -National Average for all firms in the United States in D&B's file is 1.4%.
The Incidence of Financial Stress shows the percentage of firms in a given Class that discontinued operations over the past year with loss to creditors. The Incidence of Financial Stress-National Average represents the national failure rate and is provided for comparative purposes. All Financial Stress Class, Percentile, Score and Incidence statistics are based on 2001.

Commercial Credit Score

The US Commercial Credit Score predicts the likelihood of a firm paying in a delinquent manner (90 + days past terms) during the next 12 months, based on the information in D&B's file. The score was calculated using statistically valid models derived from D&B's extensive data files.

Commercial Credit Score
Commercial Credit Score	Credit Score Percentile	Credit Score Class	Incidence of Delinquency
536-670	91-100	1	2.5%
493-535	71-90	2	4.8%
423-492	31-70	3	12.9%
376-422	11-30	4	24.2%
101-375	1-10	5	58.8%

"0" generally denotes indication of open bankruptcy or out of business at the location. "0"may also denote higher risk situations.

Incidence of Delinquent Payment Assignment Table
Minimum Score	Maximum Score	Incidence of Delinquent Payment
96	100	2.1%
91	95	2.9%
86	90	3.6%
81	85	4.4%
76	80	5.2%
71	75	6.1%
66	70	7.3%
61	65	8.7%
56	60	10.5%
51	55	12.2%
46	50	13.9%
41	45	15.5%
36	40	17.2%
31	35	18.4%
26	30	20.2%
21	25	22.5%
16	20	24.6%
11	15	29.6%
6	10	44.9%
1	5	72.7%

The Incidence of Delinquent Payment for all firms in the United States in D&B's file is 17.3%.

The Incidence of Delinquent Payment shows the percentage of firms in a given percentile range that paid in a delinquent manner (90 + days past terms) over the past year. The Incidence of Delinquent Payment among all firms in D&B's files represents the national delinquency rate and is provided for comparative purposes. All Commercial Credit Class, Percentile, Score and Incidence statistics are based on 2001.

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