A spectacular finding from Jan F. Wagner’s investigation

Jan F. Wagner’s investigation into Scope, published in the September edition of Bankmagazin by Springer Professional under the title “Die Reifeprüfung von Scope”, draws attention to a side of the European rating agency that stands in sharp contrast to its recent strategic successes.

Jan F. Wagner’s investigation may therefore have raised a question that is more important than the balance-sheet calculation itself. Negative equity does not automatically establish a regulatory violation. But substantial accumulated losses can make it entirely legitimate to ask how a regulated rating agency continues to demonstrate that it has the resources required to operate independently, effectively and in continuing compliance with European regulation.