IOSCO consults on Code of Conduct Fundamentals for CRAs

10 February 2014

IOSCO published a consultation report on Code of Conduct Fundamentals for Credit Rating Agencies, which proposes significant revisions and updates to the current IOSCO CRA Code. Comments should be submitted by March 28, 2014.

The IOSCO CRA Code is intended to offer a set of robust, practical measures as a guide to and a framework for CRAs with respect to protecting the integrity of the rating process, ensuring that issuers and users of credit ratings, including investors, are treated fairly, and safeguarding confidential material information provided them by issuers. The IOSCO CRA Code was first published in 2004 when few jurisdictions had laws governing activities of CRAs.

IOSCO proposes to revise the IOSCO CRA Code to take into account the fact that CRAs are now supervised by regional and national authorities. The goal is to create an updated IOSCO CRA Code that works in harmony with the CRA registration and oversight programs that many IOSCO members have implemented in recent years, and that continues to operate as the international standard for CRA self-governance.

The proposed revisions are designed to strengthen the IOSCO CRA Code by:

• enhancing provisions regarding protecting the integrity of the credit rating process, managing conflicts of interest, providing transparency, and safeguarding non-public information;
• adding measures regarding governance, training, and risk management;
• seeking to improve the clarity of the IOSCO CRA Code.

Full press release

Full consultation report

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