During that time Moody's put the state on a negative watch. In April 2016, Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's bond rating from AA to AA-minus. In September 2016, Fitch Rating downgraded the state's bond rating from AA-plus to AA, according to a Charleston Gazette-Mail article. Ratings issued by Moody are the company's "current opinions of the relative future credit risk of entities, credit commitments or debt or debt-like securities," Moody's said in explaining West Virginia's rating downgrade. According to Moody's rating action, Moody's downgrade of West Virginia's general obligation debt rating affects approximately $339.6 million in outstanding debt. Moody has 21 different ratings with Aaa as the highest and C as the lowest, Moody's spokesman David Jacobson said. Jacobson likened the debt rating to a person's credit score.