Author: Dr. Oliver Everling

In the dynamic landscape of finance, staying ahead of the curve is imperative for making informed decisions. Enter the KBRA Financial Intelligence (KFI) Scores, a groundbreaking quarterly financial assessment tool designed to gauge the health and risk of banks, bank holding companies, and credit unions. This innovative platform has already become a go-to resource for…

Scope Ratings, a Berlin credit rating agency, has unveiled its proposal for a Consumer and Business Services Methodology designed to augment its existing General Corporate Rating Methodology. The new framework is tailored for European consumer and business services companies and incorporates a comprehensive array of industry-specific risk drivers. Scope Ratings welcomes comments on the proposed…

By working with Google, Moody’s secures unbeatable advantages over other rating providers: New tools will aim to streamline the ability of finance professionals to analyze lengthy financial reports and disclosures using Google Cloud’s generative AI.

For the second consecutive year, Moody’s has secured the number-one overall ranking in the Chartis RiskTech100® annual report, the most comprehensive study of the world’s leading providers of risk and compliance technology.

In an analysis by Alvise Lennkh-Yunus and Brian Marly from Sovereign and Public Sector Ratings, it is highlighted that European Union (EU) member states are facing significant fiscal pressures, primarily due to higher interest rates, rising pension and healthcare costs, increased defense spending, and the need for green investments. These pressures are expected to worsen…

Moody’s Corporation announced the launch of Vietnam Investors Service And Credit Rating Agency Joint Stock Company (VIS Rating), a partnership between Moody’s and leading Vietnamese financial institutions that was initiated by the Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA). Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance issued a credit rating agency license to VIS Rating on September 18, 2023. VIS…

The three Nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (NCRAs) – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – are reinforcing their commitment to the financial health of U.S. consumers with the ongoing availability of free weekly credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com. This free service was first introduced at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to help consumers protect their financial health…

In a move that holds profound implications for the credit rating industry, Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB), a globally recognized leader in business decisioning data and analytics, has announced a groundbreaking collaboration with Google Cloud to leverage generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) initiatives. This partnership represents a significant stride forward in the companies’ 10-year strategic…

Österreichischer Rundfunk Stiftung öffentlichen Rechts (ORF), Austria’s public service broadcaster, has recently received an Outlook revision to Negative from Stable by Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope). While the rating agency has affirmed ORF’s AA long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings, the shift in Outlook reflects the challenges posed by the political risk associated with its…

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer – Insights for Financial Services reveals areas that are particularly distrusted and those that have surprisingly gained trust.Frankfurt am Main, July 11, 2023 – Trust in the German financial industry is not looking good, as shown by the latest 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer – Insights for Financial Services. Among 17…

The partnership between Moody’s and Microsoft to develop enhanced risk, data, analytics, research, and collaboration solutions powered by generative AI is likely to influence competition among credit rating agencies in several ways: Overall, the partnership between Moody’s and Microsoft has the potential to enhance Moody’s capabilities in risk analysis, data management, productivity, and collaboration. These…

Donner & Reuschel AG has been ordered by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to ensure proper business organization and hold additional capital. The order was issued in a letter dated May 3, 2023, after a special audit revealed that the credit business processes did not comply with the requirements of the Banking Act (KWG).…

The share price had already crashed in 2021, but now there is also official news. The German financial supervisory authority BaFin has identified errors in the abbreviated financial statement of Wild Bunch AG, based in Berlin, as of June 30, 2020. BaFin’s announcement is made under § 109 paragraph 2 sentence 1 of the Securities…

The investor protection activist Stefan Loipfinger reveals his concern about the GLS-Crowd, a platform for crowdfunding investments aligned with the sustainable investment and financing principles of GLS Bank. The information provided by Stefan Loipfinger was followed up on RATING©WATCH, see “GLS-BANK Nachhaltig, aber nicht finanziell nachhaltig”, June 9, 2023. Despite the bank’s focus on sustainable…

The Berlin rating agency Scope has affirmed its BB issuer rating and BB rating for senior unsecured debt on JSC Evex Hospitals (Evex) with a Stable Outlook. The affirmation is based on several factors: The Stable Outlook reflects Scope’s expectation of a revenue recovery, the company’s ability to maintain its margins, and the successful transition…

With 16 extensive appendices to only 7 pages of methodology, the new methodology from Scope Ratings sets a new record for imbalance. Scope has updated its covered bond rating methodology, which will now be applied to all covered bond ratings. The update aims to provide further clarity and refinement to Scope’s analytical approach without impacting…

The Berlin rating agency Scope Ratings has published a new rating methodology specifically designed for investment holding companies. This methodology “Investment Holding Companies Rating Methodology – Corporates” has undergone a call-for-comments period and has now been finalized. It will be applied to all issuer and debt ratings of investment holding companies. However, the methodology is…

Credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB (SBB), a Swedish landlord, to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘, due to high leverage and tightening liquidity, and assigned a negative outlook. SBB’s committed credit facilities have halved in the first quarter and the company has significant short-term debt maturities of over SEK 14 billion…

The Silicon Valley Bank deceives investors with excellent credit ratings, which the rating agencies have already withdrawn from the bank: https://ir.svb.com/shareholder-and-bondholder-information/credit-ratings/default.aspx

Bank buys shares in the rating agency, days later the rating agency recommends bank stocks and bank bonds.

Equifax Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Boa Vista Serviços, the second largest credit bureau in Brazil.

S&P Global unveiled today its new strategic direction and growth targets at its 2022 Investor Day in New York. The event is the first Investor Day for the combined Company, following the completion of S&P Global’s merger with IHS Markit earlier this year, and the first for the Company in four years. The Company will…

Moody’s Corporation today announced results for the third quarter of 2022 and updated its outlook for full year 2022. It happened as it had to: While the low interest rate policy resulted in a firework display of bond issues up to the end of 2021, the reluctance of issuers is now becoming noticeable. Inflation with…

A company that wields greater economic Power over Russia has a greater responsibility to take action. Or, put another way, if such a company doesn’t withdraw, it is supporting Russia more than a company with less Power. This is the verdict of a rating agency specializing in these questions.

The capital increase and the purchase of the shares by the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Germany stabilize the company and make it appear less likely that it will run into difficulties. The credit rating agencies must therefore check whether the outlook must remain negative or whether it can even be turned positive.…

A Berlin rating agency is dealing with the far-reaching change in the use of retail real estate: “The local supply sector is one of the winners. Investors appreciate its independence from economic cycles. There are still challenges – sustainability is one of them,” says the research of the Scope Fund Analysis. Scope sees the reason…

Morningstar to Unite Two Forward-Looking Rating Systems into One.

An impressive 135 portfolios were rated for the first time by the Berlin rating agency Scope, 40 percent of which received a top rating straight away. The rating agency’s analysts were also impressed by many funds with a longer rating history, such as a bond heavyweight from Pimco and an infrastructure stock fund from DWS.…

Around 20% fall in the stock market in a single day – that’s the report for Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget I Norden AB Class B shares today, Thursday, July 14, 2022. Stocks with such loss potential can hardly promise the security to warrant an investment grade rating for the investment company holding those stocks. “Scope affirm’s Ilija Batljan…

It came as it had to come – there is news about this rating, reported today: The credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings today announced that they are confirming Samhällsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB (publ)’s investment grade rating BBB- and outlook has been updated to negative from stable. SBB has BBB-rating with positive outlook from Fitch…

“Uniper withdraws its 2022 financial outlook amid Russian gas supply restrictions” – That’s the title of an action-free press release from a Berlin rating agency, called Scope Ratings, today: “This monitoring note does not constitute a credit rating action, nor does it indicate the likelihood that Scope will conduct a credit rating action in the…

Ilija Batljan, CEO and Founder of Samhällsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB, fights for the reputation of his group. RATING EVIDENCE has had several occasions to report on this entrepreneur and his company on this and another website, rating.repair and everling.de. RATING©REPAIR is the name of the virtual repair shop as a B2B service, a brand name…

Assessing digital assets will be a challenge for the ratings industry. More and more institutional investors will count digital assets among their investments.

It is a judgment with relevance for the rating industry, namely the judgment of the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court on unfair camouflaged advertising when considering paid product reviews within the overall rating result of a product. If the overall evaluation result for products offered on a sales platform also includes reviews for which…

The processes require detailed examination by the credit rating agencies. Here it must be clarified whether the transaction will result in an upgrade or a downgrade, or whether it will have no impact on credit ratings.

S&P Global share price collapsed today. The background to this is the company’s outlook, which has already been significantly corrected after just one month. What reads like bad news also contains a hidden positive signal.

GRENKE AG, a global financing partner for small and medium-sized enterprises, generated net profit of EUR 20.5 million in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1 2021: EUR 14.0 million), corresponding to an increase of 46.8% compared to the first quarter of 2021. However, it is questionable whether this and the company’s results presented below are…

The embarrassment for European credit rating agencies is certain even before the voting has started. “US Securitzation Awards 2022 – voting now live!” This is the call from GlobalCapital, inviting market participants to vote for the best rating agency when it comes to securitization. This is the choice:

S&P Global Ratings reported a revenue decrease of 15% to $868 million in the first quarter of 2022. Transaction revenue decreased 31% to $404 million. Transaction revenue was negatively impacted by a year-over-year decrease in debt issuance across all categories, but particularly within high-yield, which decreased approximately 68% year-over-year. Non-transaction revenue increased 7% to $464…

At first glance, it all seems like a nasty publicity ploy to lure unsuspecting savers to the website of an investment broker who wants to broker savings at risky banks. However, a closer look reveals that the provider in question does everything possible to provide correct information about the credit ratings issued by recognized credit…

Four US rating agencies give Triple-A credit ratings to a bankrupt bank? On Friday 22 April 2022, the Amsterdam District Court, at the request of Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V. (ATB) and after hearing the Nederlandsche Bank N.V., declared ATB bankrupt. Declaring the bankruptcy means that a trustee has been appointed to wind up the Trade…

DBRS Morningstar will benefit from LCD data and news, supporting credit analysts and credit investor workflows. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Leveraged Commentary & Data (LCD) combines real-time news, data, tools, and analysis on the U.S. and European leveraged loan, high-yield bond, distressed, and investment-grade corporate markets. Produced by S&P Global’s own team of experienced journalists…