A measure of the creditworthiness of a bond issue. In addition to bond credit rating, there is a growing trend toward the ‘‘credit rating’’ of loans offered for sale. Unlike bonds, a loan credit rating reflects more than the financial soundness of the underlying borrowing corporation. In particular, the value of the underlying collateral can change a loan’s credit rating up to one full category above a standard bond rating. As more loans are rated, their attractiveness to secondary market buyers is likely to increase.