Standard & Poor’s cut China’s sovereign credit rating, citing concern over soaring debt levels despite government pledges to stay ahead of financial risks.

In a Thursday statement, S&P Global Ratings said it downgraded China’s rating to A+ from AA-, but did now change its outlook on the world’s second-largest economy to stable from negative.

The action brings the ratings across the three major credit-rating firms in line. Fitch Ratings lowered China’s rating in 2013, while Moody’s Investors Service did so just last May.

The downgrade of China’s rating, the first such move by S&P since 1999, reflects its assessment that “a prolonged period of strong credit growth has increased China’s economic and financial risks,” it said in its statement.

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Market reaction to the move, which was released after China’s stock markets closed, was muted. The yuan USDCNY, +0.0653% slipped about 0.3% against the U.S. dollar initially. The dollar was broadly higher against all rivals, however, after the Federal Reserve signaled the likelihood for another rate hike in 2017.

S&P said the stable outlook reflects its view that China will maintain robust economic performance and improved fiscal performance in the next three to four years.

The analysts said recent intensification of Chinese government efforts to rein in corporate leverage could stabilize trend of financial risk in medium term.

Recent data had also revealed that China’s fiscal spending slowed sharply in August, as the government had front-loaded expenditure earlier this year, resulting in stronger-than-expected economic growth in the first half. A separate report out earlier this month showed that China’s housing sales growth in August was the slowest in over two years, though developers kept building at a steady rate.

Debt market reaction to Chinese actions had been favorable. The cost of default protection on Chinese sovereign debt earlier this month fell to its lowest levels in more than two years, according to IHS Markit.