Much has been said and written about credit ratings firms in the past year, but one fundamental question has tended to be overlooked: what does the market want from ratings in the future?

S&P has met with scores of investment institutions recently and their response tends to be similar. First, they want credit ratings to be relatively stable. Investors appreciate that ratings can change during a cycle, as our view of future creditworthiness evolves. But they wish to avoid excessive volatility, especially of higher ratings.