Fitch Ratings affirmed Dun& Bradstreet Corp.'s long-term issuer default rating at "BBB"and short-term issuer default rating at "F2," citing Dun & Bradstreet'smarket leadership and progress on the company's turnaround.

The company's database, which contains more than 250 millionrecords of proprietary trade credit and corporate family data, "provides ahard-to-replicate asset underpinning its core product offerings," the ratingagency wrote. Commercial credit data appreciates in value rather than becoming stale,it noted.

However, the company's ratings outlook is negative. Fitch doesnot expect the company to deleverage to near 3.0x until the end of 2017 or later.

"Indications that D&B is veering from this deleveragingpath due to underperformance, shareholder remuneration above Fitch's expectations,or other reasons, will likely result in a downgrade," the agency wrote.

Dun & Bradstreet's leverage was 3.9x as of Dec. 31, 2015.