Credit ratings Cost of debt 2 Banks 1 Business groups 1 Consolidation 1 Contracting 1 Covenants 1 Credit default swaps 1 Credit spread 1 Credit spreads 1 Default prediction 1 Finance 1 Financial distress 1 Financial firms 1 Financial regulations 1 Financial reporting 1 Financial reporting transparency 1 Financial statements 1 Forecasting 1 Japanese capital markets 1 Off-balance sheets 1 Predictive power 1 Rating agency 1 Religiosity 1 Transparency 1