问

问题如下：

Company A has an issuer credit rating of A but its latest issued bond B has obtained a credit rating of BBB+. Which of the following may cause the difference between two credit ratings?

选项：

A.

Bond B has a lower seniority ranking.

B.

Bond B includes an additional conventant which can protect bondholders.

C.

Bond B is influenced by the restricted status.

解释：

A is correct.

Notching, a ratings adjustment, is required when the newly issued Bond B has a lower seniority ranking.

考点：Credit Rating

解析：公司A的主体评级是A，而刚刚发行的债券B的评级是BBB+，由于债项评级和主体评级之间有差距，这种现象就是notching，即同一个发行主体，发行的不同债券之间信用等级是不一样的。现在债券B的信用评级低于公司整体评级，所以A选项正确。

B选项：债券B包含一个额外的条款，这个条款可以保护债券持有人。既然条款更有利于债券持有人，那么债券B应该更为优质，其信用等级应该更高才对。

C选项：债券B受到严格的管制，这个选项完全和题目没有关联，属于硬凑的选项。