Rating Agencies and Their Role in the International Financial Crisis

• Main Author: Eugen Andreescu
• Format: Article
• Language: ron
• Published: Institute for World Economy 2011-04-01
• Series: Revista de Economie Mondială
• Subjects: American Rating Agencies; credit ratings; international financial crisis; bonds; debt tools
• Online Access: http://iem.ro/rem/index.php/REM/article/view/62/48

The leading three American Rating Agencies are focussed on assigning credit ratings for issuers of different types of bonds and debt tools by establishing an independent evaluation on the potential risks. The developed countries are the main targets of the successive downgrading process operated in the 2010-2011 period. Meantime the emerging countries were the receivers of higher assessments. In conformity to 2010 Moody’s Report, over 70 per cent from the country rating cutbacks was concentrated to European countries. Among 18 countries that were assessed of higher ratings, only one, Turkey, belongs to Europe. The others are emerging countries from Latin America (56 per cent), Asia (39 per cent), Africa and Middle East (5 per cent).