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The case for a European rating agency: Evidence from the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis

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  • Altdörfer, Marc
  • De las Salas Vega, Carlos A.
  • Guettler, Andre
  • Löffler, Gunter

Abstract

Politicians frequently voice that European bond issuers would benefit from the presence of a Europe-based rating agency. We take Fitch as a prototype for such an agency. With its ownership structure and a headquarter in London, Fitch is more European than Moody’s and S&P; during the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, it also issued more favorable ratings. Fitch’s rating actions, however, were largely ignored by the bond market. Our results thus cast doubt on the benefits of a European credit rating agency.

Suggested Citation

  • Altdörfer, Marc & De las Salas Vega, Carlos A. & Guettler, Andre & Löffler, Gunter, 2019. "The case for a European rating agency: Evidence from the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:58:y:2019:i:c:p:1-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2018.09.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Ioannou, Stefanos & Wójcik, Dariusz & Pažitka, Vladimír, 2021. "Financial centre bias in sub-sovereign credit ratings," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Binici, Mahir & Hutchison, Michael & Miao, Evan Weicheng, 2020. "Market price effects of agency sovereign debt announcements: Importance of prior credit states," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 769-787.
    3. Makram El‐Shagi & Gregor von Schweinitz, 2022. "Why they keep missing: An empirical investigation of sovereign bond ratings and their timing," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 69(2), pages 186-224, May.
    4. Vu, Huong & Alsakka, Rasha & ap Gwilym, Owain, 2022. "Does competition improve sovereign credit rating quality?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Cuadros-Solas, Pedro Jesús & Salvador Muñoz, Carlos, 2022. "Disentangling the sources of sovereign rating adjustments: An examination of changes in rating policies following the GFC," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Altdörfer, Marc & Guettler, Andre & Löffler, Gunter, 2024. "Analyst distance and credit rating consistency," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Kraemer, Moritz & Klusak, Patrycja & Vu, Huong, 2020. "First-mover disadvantage - The sovereign ratings mousetrap," CEPS Papers 26352, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    8. Thomas Edward Flores & Gabriella Lloyd & Irfan Nooruddin, 2023. "When TED talks, does anyone listen? A new dataset on political leadership," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 169-199, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit rating agencies; Sovereign debt crisis; Eurozone; Home bias;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F65 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Finance
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage

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