Ratings agencies
Sovereign credit ratings have asymmetric impact, ECB paper finds
Working paper finds market volatility depends on whether the rating was an upgrade or a downgrade; identifies channels of contagion between countries
Regulatory reliance to blame for faulty credit ratings, paper claims
The growing importance of credit ratings to financial regulators and prudential regulation explains more of the distortion in ratings than the question of who pays for the rating
Credit ratings hit prices 'significantly' more in times of crisis, paper finds
Effects of rating actions on market prices not crucial during favourable market conditions but 'very significant' in times of crisis; analysis covers ratings and prices of 16,500 bonds over 12 years
Moody's says big US banks no longer ‘too big to fail'
Agency cuts ratings of four systemically important US banks, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, as Dodd-Frank believed to reduce prospects of future government bailouts
Banque de France backs efforts to circumvent ratings agencies
Central bank gives scathing assessment of credit ratings agencies and supports Esma proposals to reduce reliance on ratings; Moody’s and S&P critical of the plans
Asian central bank FX reserves not properly recognised by rating agencies, says Sheng
CBRC adviser and former Hong Kong SFC chief Andrew Sheng points to inconsistent approach in sovereign debt ratings; doubts international crisis co-ordination is possible
Chinese banks may face shadow finance credit crisis, say rating agencies
Strong links between the regulated and unregulated credit sectors in China due to the use of wealth management products and lending to shadow banks pose a systemic threat to Chinese banks
Philippines central bank braces for impact of rating upgrades
Central bank says it is ‘vigilant’ to asset bubbles resulting from country’s upgrade to investment grade status by two of the three main rating agencies
FSB to assess efforts to end ‘mechanistic reliance’ on credit ratings
Peer reviews aim to hasten a move away from rating agencies, with countries expected to eliminate references to credit ratings from laws and encourage better internal credit risk assessments
French debt downgraded as Troika praises Portuguese reforms
France stripped of top credit rating due to weak reform effort and high uncertainty, as Troika praises Portugal for making ‘solid progress’ with economic reforms
ECB paper claims credit rating agencies traded grades for custom
ECB study finds credit rating agencies provided more favourable ratings in return for continued custom; quality allegedly compromised by conflict of interest
Moody’s changes EU credit rating outlook to negative
Credit rating agency says move reflects alterations to rating outlooks for core eurozone countries; all eyes on ECB for rate decision later this week
Central Bank of Barbados challenges rating downgrade
S&P lowers Barbados’s sovereign credit rating triggering angry response from central bank; says it is ‘manifestly’ not the case that debt risk has increased
ECB relaxes collateral eligibility rules
Broader range of lower quality assets now acceptable under ECB collateral rules; move should help Spanish banks after results of stress test reveal a potential €62 billion capital shortfall
Sri Lankan central bank blasts rating agency assessment
Central bank expresses 'grave concern' over statement from Standard & Poor's regarding state of banking sector in the country; rating agency noted 'very high risk' in institutional framework
IMF paper assesses effect of transparency on credit ratings
Working paper studies relationship between fiscal transparency and sovereign credit ratings; finds that greater clarity improves a country’s rating
IMF paper evaluates credit risk assessment methods
Working paper compares cumulative accuracy profile and receiver operating characteristic analysis methods for evaluating credit risk
Korean government issuers unlikely to benefit if sovereign is upgraded – Moody's
Government-related issuers not likely to be upgraded alongside Korean sovereign as rating agencies place more weight on underlying credit fundamentals
Diverging views on US debt stimulate debate at NALM 2012
A difference of views emerged about the relative risks of US sovereign debt compared with alternatives during a panel discussion at NALM 2012 symposium on risk approaches in a post-crisis world
BoE’s Fisher calls for central banks to bulk up risk management capabilities
Paul Fisher explains benefits of central banks doing independent credit assessment when evaluating collateral; says risk management functions need to be ‘bigger’ in central banks
Fitch warns UK over AAA rating
Fitch shifts UK rating outlook to negative; raises expectations for budget announcement later this month
Moody’s downgrades Cyprus to junk status
Rating agency drops rating for Cypriot government bonds to Ba1; says concerns over banking sector’s exposure to Greece are to blame
Sri Lanka objects to ‘highly unwarranted’ downgrade
Central Bank of Sri Lanka unhappy with ratings alterations; issues lengthy statement objecting to the moves
Moody’s alters sovereign debt ratings of nine EU countries
Austria, France and the UK see outlooks on Aaa ratings changed to negative; Spain and five other countries’ ratings are downgraded