Furniture Today,
ST. LOUIS — Furniture Brands International said it has asked the two major debt ratings agencies, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, to withdraw their ratings for the company.

FBI, which refinanced much of its debt earlier this year, said its lenders no longer require debt ratings.


“With our current capital structure and with no foreseeable debt issuance needs, we have concluded that we no longer need to maintain a third-party credit rating,” said Ralph Scozzafava, vice chairman and CEO-designate. “We made this decision as part of our ongoing company-wide initiatives to gain efficiencies and to cut costs whenever possible.”

Companies pay the rating services to assess their debt issues.

Several months before the refinancing, the ratings agencies placed FBI’s debt in the “substantial credit risk” category.