The current degradation of sovereign balance sheets raises very real concerns about how sovereign creditworthiness is measured by credit rating agencies. Given the disastrous economic and social effects of any downgrade, the book offers an alternative and calls for more transparency about the quantitative measures used in calibrating the rating process and how sovereign ratings are validated. It argues that oversight is required and procedures improved, including subjecting methodologies of assessing default to more standardization and monitoring. Sovereign Credit Rating explains the process of sovereign creditworthiness assessment and explores the consequences of possible inaccuracies in the process. Developing an innovative new methodology to assess ratings accuracy, it shows that the announcement of each rating action by the major credit rating agencies show alarming inconsistencies. Written by an internationally recognized author and professor, this unique book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in corporate governance, accounting, public finance and regulation.

Bartholomew Paudyn investigates how governments across the globe struggle to constitute the authoritative knowledge underpinning the political economy of creditworthiness and what the (neoliberal) 'fiscal normality' means for democratic governance.

The book examines the role of credit rating agencies (CRAs) in the subprime mortgage crisis. The CRAs are blamed for awarding risky securities ‘3-A’ investment grade status and then failing to downgrade them quickly enough when circumstances changed, which led to investors suffering substantial losses. The causes identified by the regulators for the gatekeeper failure were conflicts of interest (as the issuers of these securities pay for the ratings); lack of competition (as the Big Three CRAs have dominated the market share); and lack of regulation for CRAs. The book examines how the regulators, both in the US and EU, have sought to address these problems by introducing soft law self-regulation in accordance with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions Code and hard law statutory regulation, such as that found in the “Reform Act” and “Dodd-Frank Act” in the US and similar provisions in the EU. The highly topical book examines these provisions in detail by using a doctrinal black-letter law method to assess the success of the regulators in redressing the problems identified. It also examines the US case law regulation relating to the legal liability of CRAs. The book examines whether the regulations introduced have had a deterrent effect on the actions of CRAs, whether investors are compensated for their losses, and how the regulators have dealt with the issues of conflicts of interest and an anti-competitive environment. Should liability be introduced for CRAs through changes in the law so as to compel them to issue reliable ratings and solve the current problems? The book seeks to simplify the complex issues involved and is backed by concrete evidence; as such, it will appeal to both the well-informed and the lay general public who are interested in learning more about the role of CRAs in the sub-prime mortgage crisis and regulators’ attempts to remedy the situation. Novice readers can familiarise themselves with the legal and financial terminology used by referring to the glossary at the end of the book.

Credit rating agencies play a critical role in capital markets, guiding the asset allocation of institutional investors as private capital moves freely around the world in search of the best trade-off between risk and return. However, they have also been strongly criticised for failing to spot the Asian crisis in the early 1990s, the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat collapses in the early 2000s and finally for their ratings of subprime-related structured finance instruments and their role in the current financial crisis. This book is a guide to ratings, the ratings industry and the mechanics and economics of obtaining a rating. It sheds light on the role that the agencies play in the international financial markets. It avoids the sensationalist approach often associated with studies of rating scandals and the financial crisis, and instead provides an objective and critical analysis of the business of ratings. The book will be of practical use to any individual who has to deal with ratings and the ratings industry in their day-to-day job. Reviews "Rating agencies fulfil an important role in the capital markets, but given their power, they are frequently the object of criticism. Some of it is justified but most of it portrays a lack of understanding of their business. In their book The Rating Agencies and their Credit Ratings, Herwig and Patricia Langohr provide an excellent economic background to the role of rating agencies and also a thorough understanding of their business and the problems they face. I recommend this book to all those who have an interest in this somewhat arcane but extremely important area." -Robin Monro-Davies, Former CEO, Fitch Ratings. "At a time of unprecedented public and political scrutiny of the effectiveness and indeed the basic business model of the Credit Rating industry, and heightened concerns regarding the transparency and accountability of the leading agencies, this book provides a commendably comprehensive overview, and should provide invaluable assistance in the ongoing debate." -Rupert Atkinson, Managing Director, Head of Credit Advisory Group, Morgan Stanley and member of the SIFMA Rating Agency Task Force "The Langohrs have provided useful information in a field where one frequently finds only opinions or misconceptions. They supply a firm base from which to understand changes now underway. A well-read copy of this monograph should be close to the desk of every investor, issuer and financial regulator, legislator or commentator." -John Grout, Policy and Technical Director, The Association of Corporate Treasurers

This annual publication provides an overview of the most important developments in global credit markets and the regulatory landscape. It covers theoretical and empirical research on credit ratings and credit risk, and reports on recent findings and evolutions of the Risk Management Institute's Credit Research Initiative. The ultimate objective of this publication is to advance the state of research and development in the critical area of credit risk and rating systems. With a distinctive focus on topics related to credit markets and credit risk, this publication will be useful to finance professionals, policy makers and academics with an interest in credit markets.

Taking position from the recent 2007-2009 financial crisis, Credit Ratings and Market Over-reliance: An International Legal Analysis by Francesco De Pascalis provides an in depth legal and regulatory analysis of the concept of over-reliance in the use of ratings and how regulation facilitates over-reliance is different from mere reliance on credit ratings. Not only does the book provide an incisive doctrinal analysis of the concept of over-reliance, it also considers over-reliance from a comparative and international perspective by reviewing legal and regulatory developments under European Union and US law and how over-reliance has been addressed in international financial regulation.

This paper describes South Africa’s economic development and challenges. South Africa has made considerable economic and social progress over the past two decades, but faces substantial challenges. Global transitions—China’s slowdown and rebalancing, weak commodity prices, and U.S. monetary policy normalization—are taking a heavy toll on South Africa. Growth and employment, which were already low, are faltering and continue to underperform peer countries. Vulnerabilities remain elevated and have increased in the real and fiscal sectors. Boosting growth and job creation, thus reducing extremely high unemployment and inequality, and promoting social transformation remain South Africa’s key challenges.

Global Credit Review is an annual publication that provides an overview of the most important developments in global credit markets and the regulatory landscape. The third volume provides some critical analysis, reviews the introduction of new regulations and also offers new insights to address the challenges ahead. The carefully selected chapters touch on current topics such as: the measurement of systemic risk, reserve requirements and its role in monetary policy, the application of the Basel II default definition by credit risk assessment systems, and changes in credit portfolio management, amongst others. Recent evolutions of the Risk Management Institute's Credit Research Initiative are also reported, including a comprehensive overview of the technical details on the implementation of the current RMI-CRI corporate default prediction model. With its distinctive focus on topics related to credit markets and credit risk, this is an invaluable publication for finance professionals, policy makers and academics with an interest in credit markets.

The current financial crisis started from the US real estate market and after, though the increase of risk premium requested by investors and due to the lack of liquidity of all financial markets, it became a world financial crisis. A detailed analysis during the crisis focuses attention on asset management, the real estate and public sector.

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, there have been many criticisms weighed against private credit rating agencies. Many claim they only exacerbate financial market volatility by issuing faulty public statements, ratings warnings, and downgrades. This instability increases the uncertainty in business environments and weakens the pace of business investment. Their rating changes also prompt national governments to reduce their spending at a time when fiscal expenditures are crucial for economic recovery. Public Credit Rating Agencies argues for the creation of national public credit rating agencies, offering the first in-depth discussion of their implied role and function operating alongside private agencies. Schroeder provides an up-to-date overview of the ratings industry and the government bodies that monitor its activities. She suggests that the proper implementation of public credit rating agencies will promote the stability of lending, further development and adaptation of new technology, and increase labor productivity and the profitability of new investment in businesses. Finally, this book clarifies the inconsistencies that have surfaced between public budgeting and a rating agency's evaluation of national budgets.