24 February 2011

Regulatory programmes for credit rating agencies implement IOSCO CRA principles

A report of the Technical Committee (TC) of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has found that regulatory programmes for credit rating agencies (CRAs), which have been recently implemented or are currently in progress, implement the four principles for CRAs as set out in IOSCO’s 2003 Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies (IOSCO CRA Principles).

The four principles address:

 quality and integrity in the rating process;

 independence and conflicts of interest;

 transparency and timeliness of ratings disclosure; and

 confidential information.

The report on the Regulatory Implementation of the Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies reviewed CRA supervisory initiatives in Australia, the European Union (EU), Japan, Mexico and the United States. The review found that while the structure and specific provisions of the different programmes may differ, the objectives of IOSCO’s CRA Principles are embedded into each of the programmes. The principles also provide the building blocks upon which many of the regulatory programmes have been based.

IOSCO, through the TC Standing Committee on Credit Rating Agencies (TCSC6), will continue to provide a forum for CRA supervisors which will assist in enhancing international supervisory co-operation in the implementation of regulators’ respective programmes, as well as in addressing potential conflicts that may arise from the differing regulatory requirements imposed by different jurisdictions on globally operating CRAs. TCSC6 will also continue its work on reviewing how the various regulatory initiatives impact CRAs that are active in more than one jurisdiction.

IOSCO CRA report

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