Category: Agencies
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Moody’s Strong Q1 2024 Performance: Implications for Competing Rating Agencies
Moody’s Corporation’s robust financial results for the first quarter of 2024 have significant implications for the competitive landscape of credit rating agencies. With a 21% surge in overall revenue and a standout 35% increase in revenue from Moody’s Investors Service, the company is setting a brisk pace in an industry that thrives on market perception…
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ESMA Fines Scope Ratings Over EUR 2 Million for Conflict of Interest Breaches, Highlighting Need for Timely Regulatory Decisions
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the chief regulator and supervisor for the EU’s financial markets, has levied a significant fine of EUR 2,197,500 against Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) for violating the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (CRA Regulation). This action stems from Scope’s failure to meet the CRA Regulation’s demands regarding the management of…
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Morningstar, Inc. Continues to Expand Global Reach and Expertise
Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent financial research and credit ratings, has announced significant milestones in its diverse range of services as of December 31, 2023. In conclusion, Morningstar, Inc. continues to demonstrate its dedication to providing comprehensive financial research and analysis, catering to the evolving needs of investors across the globe. Through its…
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Ensuring Integrity: The Importance of Self-Evaluation for Rating Agencies
Moody’s Corporation has proudly announced that it has received three prestigious recognitions for its sustainable business practices, highlighting its ongoing commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. As a renowned global integrated risk assessment firm, Moody’s sees sustainability as a fundamental aspect of conducting business and emphasizes the importance of leading by example. In…
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Challenges in Comparing CRA Market Shares for 2022 and 2021
The landscape of Credit Rating Agency (CRA) market shares for the years 2022 and 2021 presents a complex scenario, marked by challenges in making direct year-on-year comparisons. Several factors contribute to the intricacies of comparing these market shares, and it is crucial to understand these nuances for a comprehensive assessment. In conclusion, the comparison of…
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Credit Rating Agency UK Market Share Report for 2022: A Closer Look
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently released its Credit Rating Agency (CRA) Market Share Report for the year 2022, building upon the inaugural report from the previous year. The FCA, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 and subsequent amendments, oversees UK CRAs to ensure compliance and foster healthy competition within the industry. Regulatory Framework…
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Scope Ratings: Conflicts of Interest Become Apparent from one Day to the Next
The timing of two significant announcements within a span of two days could hardly have been more ill-fated for Scope Ratings GmbH (see Scope Group, The Pitfalls of Close Ties: Examining the Nexus Between Central Banks and Rating Agencies). In conclusion, the juxtaposition of these two announcements within such a short timeframe creates a narrative…
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KFI Score Insights Tool
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…
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Moody’s Strengthens Private Credit Analysis: Implications for Competing Rating Agencies
Moody’s Corporation recently announced a significant organizational change that focuses on the analysis and evaluation of the private credit sector. This move not only has substantial implications for Moody’s itself but also for competing rating agencies and the entire financial industry. In summary, Moody’s announcement signifies a shift in the landscape of rating agencies and…
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Scope Ratings Introduces New Methodology for Services Companies and Invites Feedback
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…
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Moody’s and Google Cloud Partner on Generative AI Applications Tailored for Financial Services Professionals
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.
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One of the world’s leading providers of risk and compliance technology
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.
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Launch of Vietnam Investors Service And Credit Rating Agency Joint Stock Company
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…
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Moody’s Move to Competitive Advantage
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…
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Strengthened Morningstar’s ESG Offering: Sustainalytics and Indexes Aligned
Morningstar, Inc. has announced that it will align its Morningstar Sustainalytics and Morningstar Indexes product areas under the leadership of Morningstar Indexes President Ron Bundy. This strategic move aims to strengthen Morningstar’s position in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) market and better cater to the evolving needs of investors. Morningstar is a leading provider…
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The Banking Renaissance – Renaissance of Conflicts of Interest
Bank buys shares in the rating agency, days later the rating agency recommends bank stocks and bank bonds.
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Good Views Around Sugar Loaf
Equifax Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Boa Vista Serviços, the second largest credit bureau in Brazil.
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S&P Global’s New Strategic Direction and Growth Targets
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…
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Full Year 2022 Diluted EPS Guidance Range – Adjusted
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…
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Moral Rating Agency About Russia
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.
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Birth of the Morningstar Medalist Rating
Morningstar to Unite Two Forward-Looking Rating Systems into One.
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Anyone Not Issuing Bonds Now is Hoping for Better Times
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.
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Securitization Rating Agency of the Year
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:
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S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service Both Are Feeling the Lack of Issuance Activity
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…
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Top Credit Ratings from Google’s Search World
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…
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Sell Pressure at S&P Global Delights DBRS Morningstar
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…
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A Not So New New Rating From Moody’s
Moody’s Investors Service is seeking feedback by May 05, 2022 from market participants on proposed changes to its Banks Methodology. The key proposed revision is to introduce new ratings that exclude government support (XG ratings) in Moody’s methodology for banks. The rating agency is currently collecting comments and opinions from market participants. Hence a remark…
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Sanctions Against Russia Not Thought Through to the End
The exuberant regulation of the credit rating agencies is always sprouting new flowers. The instrumentalization of rating agencies for political goals is being discussed at the United Nations, although right now it is becoming clear what negative effects it has when rating agencies are used for political sanctions. At the “High Level Meeting on the…
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Morningstar Takes on the Regulation
Looking forward to 2022, Morningstar, Inc.’s Joe Mansueto, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, and Kunal Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, expect the Board to support Morningstar’s strategic initiatives including an initiative they call “Organizational Design Responsive to Changes in our Regulatory Landscape”.
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Investment Guidelines of German Municipalities in Practice
US rating agencies remain at an advantage over their European competitors. As the practical example of regulation in Hesse shows, the investment guidelines for municipalities cement the dominant position of the US rating agencies for every rated investment. Even the German rating agencies are out of the question for most communities. Since the ratings of…
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US Hedge Funds – US Credit Rating Agencies
A quant technology provider, SigTech, has analysed data on the global hedge fund industry and identified key trends around growth, new launches and investment strategies. According to their findings and couting 27,255 active hedge funds globally, 67% of all hedge funds globally and 70% of all new fund launches are US-based Crypto hedge funds appear…
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Switch Off Moody’s German Website
In 1991 Moody’s presented itself in full-page advertisements as the first German credit rating agency. Moody’s Investors Service now achieves an average operating margin of over 60% worldwide. However, after three decades, the German-language website of this leading international agency is still in a deplorable state. After so many years, Moody’s German website still does…
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Moody’s Sets the Standard for Africa
When people in Africa spoke of an independent credit rating agency – independent of the three leading US rating giants – they were talking about “Global Credit Rating” from South Africa, which had made a name for itself on the entire African continent. GCR is a leading credit rating agency in Africa with offices across…
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Les Agences de Notation – The Credit Rating Agencies
Rating agencies have been the subject of a number of controversies since the late 1990s, writes Norbert Gaillard in his latest book “Les agences de notation“, published in Éditions La Decouverte, Paris 2022. The Asian crisis of 1997/98, the Enron scandal of 2001 , the debacle on the subprime market in 2007/2008 and the sovereign…
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Gender Equality as a Competitive Advantage
The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) is including Moody’s Corporation for the third year in a row. Moody’s was recognized this year again for ongoing leadership in promoting gender equality among its peer companies in the global business community. The rating agency is not just following a fashion trend here. Since questions about gender equality play…
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US Agencies’ Market Shares Remain a European Debacle
The excessive regulation of rating agencies in the European Union (EU) has failed to achieve its goal. The dominance of US rating agencies remains. Their ratings are practically the only decisive factor for the allocation of the economic resource “capital” in Europe. The three leading US agencies S&P Global Ratings Europe, Moody’s Investors Service and…
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Parthenon Capital Partners Bets on KBRA
KBRA, a full-service global rating agency committed to innovation and integrity, announced today it has entered a deal with leading growth-oriented private equity firm Parthenon Capital Partners who will acquire a majority stake in the company. KBRA is a global credit rating agency founded in the wake of the global financial crisis. “When KBRA was…
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New On-Chain NFT Art Platform
A leading online art marketplace, art market data and analytics provider, and global newswire, announced “ArtNFT”: this is Artnet AG’s launch of its on-chain NFT platform, its NFT Advisory Board, and ‘Artnet NFT 30’ report. Artnet AG is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the segment with the highest transparency standards.…
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Scoring And Being Scored
Moody’s Corporation announced today that it has received an ‘A’ score from CDP on climate action for the second consecutive year. The top score recognizes Moody’s as one of a small number of high-performing companies out of nearly 12,000 that are leading actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy. It…
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Moody’s Updated Investor Presentation
Moody’s Corporation posted an updated management presentation for investors on its website, ir.moodys.com, reflecting certain information regarding the Moody’s results for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as well as updated full-year 2021 guidance as of October 28, 2021, and its posting is provided pursuant to Regulation FD. Senior management is expected use this…
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Use of ESG Rating Agencies Will Increase Dramatically
Nearly one in three (30%) pension funds and institutional investors say their use of ESG rating agencies will increase dramatically over the next three years, and a further 38% believe it will increase slightly. This is according to new research from quant technologies provider SigTech, who surveyed institutional investors across North America, Europe and Asia…
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Moody’s Extends Pole Position with Bogard
Moody’s Corporation has acquired Bogard AB, a leading provider of data and information on politically exposed persons (PEPs) in the Nordic region. The acquisition advances Moody’s ability to help customers perform Know Your Customer (KYC) screening and research to address financial crime. Bogard covers over 17,000 PEPs, relatives, and close associates across Sweden, Norway, Denmark,…
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Rating Oligopoly Persists
“The EU requirements for providers of credit ratings have not broken the dominance of the three big agencies S&P, Moody’s and Fitch”, says a story published in Germany’s only stock exchange daily, Börsen-Zeitung. in Frankfurt on October 28, 2021. The author, Detlef Fechtner, reports on a speech deliverd by Steffen Kern, Chief Economist and Head…
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S&P Global Ratings’ Revenue Increased 14%
S&P Global reported third quarter 2021 results with revenue of more than $ 2 billion, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year. Every segment was delivering revenue growth. Net income increased 75% to $797 million. Diluted earnings per share increased 75% to $3.30 primarily due to the debt tender premium and…
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ESG Ratings: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Headline ratings no longer enough Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz gave a welcome address to the conference “ESG Ratings: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” of the Corporate Governance Institute (Prof. Dr. Julia Redenius-Hövermann) at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, followed by Prof. Dr. Zacharias Sautner, showing data of Hartzmark and Sussman, 2019, proving…
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Rating Agency Accused of Using Original, Then Rewritten Data
Refinitiv ESG’s rewriting not a one-time event Prof. Dr. Kornelia Fabisik, Assistant Professor of Finance, Frankfurt School, reports on some discoveries at one of the ESG rating agencies at the conference “ESG Ratings: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” of the Corporate Governance Institute (Prof. Dr. Julia Redenius-Hövermann) at the Frankfurt School of Finance &…
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Billion Dollar Brand Name Given Away
Rework requested Just a few years ago, a cereal was linguistically associated with Kellogg’s. Anyone who spoke of Kellogg’s in Germany thought of cornflakes and vice versa, anyone who thought of cornflakes would also think of Kellogg’s. In the meantime, discount chains – from Germany for example – such as Aldi and Lidl have revolutionized…
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Standard & Poor’s. But “S&P Global Ratings”, Who?
Standard & Poor’s gave away a strong name “Landor announced that it has provided brand strategy and design services to McGraw Hill Financial for the company’s bold new brand identity as S&P Global. Landor partnered with the company to create a new name and design system that confidently marks S&P Global as the leader in delivering…
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Moody’s Work with Revenue Grid
Revenue Grid, a Mountainview, California-based revenue platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding. “800,000 sales pros use Revenue Grid to win faster and with more confidence”, says the website. The company is proud to have Moody’s as a customer. W3 Capital led the round and was joined by investors including ICU Ventures. W3 Capital is a family owned…
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Which Rating Agencies the World is Looking for in Germany
Some surprising observations Many Internet users do not bother to memorize the exact domain of a website, but simply enter a clear keyword into the Google search engine in order to be able to simply click on the desired result and visit the desired website. The displayed search results are therefore of great importance for…
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GlobalCapital Celebrates KBRA
2021 Securitization Awards. Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), a global full-service rating agency, was named “Securitization Rating Agency of the Year” by GlobalCapital at its U.S. Securitization Awards 2021. “KBRA was founded in 2010 to set a standard of excellence and integrity, and we have been loyal to this notion since then,” Eric Thompson, Global…
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Kickers Don’t Hit
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…
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Ernst & Young No Longer Has any Equity on its Balance Sheet
Auditors have been making double-digit million losses for years. At Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (EY) in Germany, “equity” is on the assets side, namely as a “deficit not covered by equity” in the amount of € 62,715,000. The provisions, liabilities, deferred income as well as deferred taxes and fiduciary obligations exceed the company’s assets…