URA Research GmbH is once again coming up with new insights into bonds.
After reviewing and analyzing the financial reports published in 2021, the URA ratings for 13 bonds were confirmed. For 2 bonds (FC Schalke 04 III and Katjes III) the assessment has deteriorated. The 4th bond from Schalke 04 and the 1st bond from Werder Bremen were newly included in the URA monitoring. In the case of follow-up bonds, the coupon usually falls due to the overall lower interest rate level.
“External ratings have almost not been obtained for a long time,” writes Jens Höhl, Managing Director of URA Research GmbH. When his company started as URA Unternehmens Ratingagentur AG in 1997, the prospects for external ratings on the bond markets in Germany were still different. While competitors continued and are now embroiled in scandals such as at the Greensill Bank, the URA wisely withdrew from this business of publishing credit ratings years ago and has since been working as a specialist with the company “URA Research GmbH“.
“Because of the frequent private placements, fewer and fewer securities prospectuses are published. At least the bond conditions improve in individual cases “, Jens Höhl continues, and at least there is no deterioration overall: e.g. obligation to publish financial reports after a certain period of time, sometimes also linked to interest rate step-ups, or limitation of financial debt or minimum equity ratio, involvement of trustees, e.g. for bonds based on the Nordic bond format.
^^^ RATING EVIDENCE GmbH 