For which types of investments is a credit rating required to be disclosed?

Credit ratings are required for investments that are implicitly guaranteed by the U.S. government because these types of securities do not carry the same explicit guarantee of payment as those directly issued or explicitly backed by the government. Implicit guarantees come from the understanding that, although not officially backed, the government is highly likely to intervene to support these securities in the event of default. Therefore, a credit rating provides essential information to investors regarding the perceived risk associated with these investments, reflecting their creditworthiness based on this implicit backing.

In contrast, securities of the U.S. government and those explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. government are considered risk-free and backed by the full faith and credit of the government, making credit ratings unnecessary for their disclosure. Since investors recognize them as having virtually no default risk, the focus shifts away from credit ratings in these cases.