 Some lenders also have contractual requirements only to hold debt above a certain credit rating.The U.S. government enjoys the highest credit rating ("AAA"/"Aaa") from two of the Big Three CRAs.The U.S. enjoyed the "gold standard" of triple-A ratings from all three agencies (Fitch, Moody's and S&P) from the time of their recognition as standards by the SEC until the S&P downgrade in early August 2011.