IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v13y2023i1p21582440221135107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Competition in Credit Rating Industry: Evidence From India

Author

Listed:
  • Chandan Sharma
  • Archana Singh
  • Rajan Yadav

Abstract

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) play an essential role in efficiently allocating capital in the financial system. However, several researchers have highlighted shortcomings of CRAs, leading to drastic consequences such as the 2008 financial crisis. The paper focuses on the competition among CRAs as one of the critical drivers of issues plaguing the credit rating industry. The paper uses quantitative and regression techniques to check the impact of competition on a firm’s credit rating. The paper utilizes firm-level financial and credit rating data from India. The paper uses dual ratings to check whether competition leads to rating inflation and shopping practices in the credit rating industry. The paper finds that CRA inflates a firm’s credit rating due to competition from other CRAs. Rating shopping is also evident in the credit rating industry, driven by competition between CRAs to gain new clients. The paper’s findings also indicate that increased competition for large-size firms business leads to CRAs showing leniency when rating such firms. The results raise the need for regulators to actively monitor and control the competition among CRAs to ensure the accuracy of credit ratings.

Suggested Citation

  • Chandan Sharma & Archana Singh & Rajan Yadav, 2023. "Impact of Competition in Credit Rating Industry: Evidence From India," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:21582440221135107
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440221135107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221135107
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440221135107?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrick Bolton & Xavier Freixas & Joel Shapiro, 2012. "The Credit Ratings Game," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 85-112, February.
    2. Bae, Kee-Hong & Kang, Jun-Koo & Wang, Jin, 2015. "Does Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings? A Reexamination of the Effect of Fitch’s Market Share on Credit Ratings in the Corporate Bond Market," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(5), pages 1011-1035, October.
    3. Jie (Jack) He & Jun (Qj) Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2012. "Are All Ratings Created Equal? The Impact of Issuer Size on the Pricing of Mortgage-Backed Securities," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2097-2137, December.
    4. Marshall E. Blume & Felix Lim & A. Craig MacKinlay, "undated". "The Declining Credit Quality of US Corporate Debt: Myth or Reality?," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 03-98, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    5. Huang, Yu-Li & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2019. "What role does the investor-paid rating agency play in China? Competitor or information provider," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 253-272.
    6. Mathis, Jérôme & McAndrews, James & Rochet, Jean-Charles, 2009. "Rating the raters: Are reputation concerns powerful enough to discipline rating agencies?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 657-674, July.
    7. Nelson Camanho & Pragyan Deb & Zijun Liu, 2022. "Credit rating and competition," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 2873-2897, July.
    8. John M. Griffin & Jordan Nickerson & Dragon Yongjun Tang, 2013. "Rating Shopping or Catering? An Examination of the Response to Competitive Pressure for CDO Credit Ratings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(9), pages 2270-2310.
    9. Arnoud W. A. Boot & Todd T. Milbourn & Anjolein Schmeits, 2006. "Credit Ratings as Coordination Mechanisms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 81-118.
    10. Becker, Bo & Milbourn, Todd, 2011. "How did increased competition affect credit ratings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 493-514, September.
    11. Park, Gitae & Lee, Ho-Young, 2018. "Opportunistic behaviors of credit rating agencies and bond issuers," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 39-59.
    12. Bae, Kee-Hong & Driss, Hamdi & Roberts, Gordon S., 2019. "Does competition affect ratings quality? Evidence from Canadian corporate bonds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 605-623.
    13. 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).
    14. Goldstein, Itay & Yang, Liyan, 2019. "Good disclosure, bad disclosure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(1), pages 118-138.
    15. Chin‐Han Chiang & Wei Dai & Jianqing Fan & Harrison Hong & Jun Tu, 2019. "Robust Measures of Earnings Surprises," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 943-983, April.
    16. Jaiswall, Sudhir Shiv Kumar & Bhattacharyya, Asish Kumar, 2016. "Corporate governance and CEO compensation in Indian firms," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 159-175.
    17. Anne Beatty & Jacquelyn Gillette & Reining Petacchi & Joseph Weber, 2019. "Do Rating Agencies Benefit from Providing Higher Ratings? Evidence from the Consequences of Municipal Bond Ratings Recalibration," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 323-354, May.
    18. Bedendo, Mascia & Cathcart, Lara & El-Jahel, Lina, 2018. "Reputational shocks and the information content of credit ratings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 44-60.
    19. Marshall E. Blume & Felix Lim & A. Craig MacKinlay, "undated". "The Declining Credit Quality of US Corporate Debt: Myth or Reality?," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 3-98, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    20. Aysun Alp, 2013. "Structural Shifts in Credit Rating Standards," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(6), pages 2435-2470, December.
    21. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:209-228 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Xiaoyang Zhuo & Guangli Xu & Yongjin Wang, 2017. "The Issuer-pays Business Model and Competitive Rating Market: Rating Network Structure," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 216-241, August.
    23. Kyungha (Kari) Lee & Stefan F. Schantl, 2019. "Financial Reporting and Credit Ratings: On the Effects of Competition in the Rating Industry and Rating Agencies' Gatekeeper Role," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 545-600, May.
    24. Jiang, Xianfeng & Packer, Frank, 2019. "Credit ratings of Chinese firms by domestic and global agencies: Assessing the determinants and impact," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 178-193.
    25. Mascia Bedendo & Lara Cathcart & Lina El-Jahel, 2018. "Reputational shocks and the information content of credit ratings," Post-Print hal-01706032, HAL.
    26. Chenghuan Sean Chu & Marc Rysman, 2019. "Competition and Strategic Incentives in the Market for Credit Ratings: Empirics of the Financial Crisis of 2007," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(10), pages 3514-3555, October.
    27. Chen, Zhiyao & Harford, Jarrad & Kamara, Avraham, 2019. "Operating Leverage, Profitability, and Capital Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(1), pages 369-392, February.
    28. Darren J. Kisgen, 2006. "Credit Ratings and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(3), pages 1035-1072, June.
    29. Mohammad Shameem Jawed & Amol S. Dhaigude & Archit Vinod Tapar, 2019. "The sectoral effect of demonetization on the economy: Evidence from early reaction of the Indian stock markets," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1595992-159, January.
    30. Jiang, John (Xuefeng) & Harris Stanford, Mary & Xie, Yuan, 2012. "Does it matter who pays for bond ratings? Historical evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 607-621.
    31. Francesco Sangiorgi & Chester Spatt, 2017. "Opacity, Credit Rating Shopping, and Bias," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(12), pages 4016-4036, December.
    32. Kisgen, Darren J., 2009. "Do Firms Target Credit Ratings or Leverage Levels?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(6), pages 1323-1344, December.
    33. Sean Flynn & Andra Ghent, 2018. "Competition and Credit Ratings After the Fall," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 1672-1692, April.
    34. Sungchan Kim & Soyoung Park, 2016. "Credit Rating Inflation during the 2000s: Lessons from the U.S. State Governments," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 13-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Krystyniak, Karolina & Staneva, Viktoriya, 2024. "The myth of tightening credit rating standards in the market for corporate debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Xia, Han, 2014. "Can investor-paid credit rating agencies improve the information quality of issuer-paid rating agencies?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 450-468.
    3. Wenming Xu & Yan Liu, 2021. "Does reputational capital affect credit rating agencies?: empirical evidence from a natural experiment in China," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 433-468, June.
    4. Agoraki, Maria-Eleni & Gounopoulos, Dimitrios & Kouretas, Georgios P., 2021. "Market expectations and the impact of credit rating on the IPOs of U.S. banks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 587-610.
    5. Liu, Yan, 2023. "Essays on credit rating agencies in China," Other publications TiSEM b54b3315-1185-48b8-aaf8-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Patrick Behr & Darren J. Kisgen & Jérôme P. Taillard, 2018. "Did Government Regulations Lead to Inflated Credit Ratings?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1034-1054, March.
    7. 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).
    8. Anna Bayona & Oana Peia & Razvan Vlahu, 2023. "Credit Ratings and Investments," Working Papers 776, DNB.
    9. Valentina Bruno & Jess Cornaggia & Kimberly J. Cornaggia, 2016. "Does Regulatory Certification Affect the Information Content of Credit Ratings?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(6), pages 1578-1597, June.
    10. van Breemen, Vivian M. & Fabozzi, Frank J. & Vink, Dennis, 2022. "Intensified competition and the impact on credit ratings in the RMBS market," Working Paper Series 2691, European Central Bank.
    11. Kedia, Simi & Rajgopal, Shivaram & Zhou, Xing, 2014. "Did going public impair Moody׳s credit ratings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 293-315.
    12. Attig, Najah & Driss, Hamdi & El Ghoul, Sadok, 2021. "Credit ratings quality in uncertain times," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    13. Xing Liu & Lingxuan Yang & Yu Liu, 2023. "Does reputation matter? Evidence on spatial competition in China's bond market," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(S1), pages 1533-1570, April.
    14. Kedia, Simi & Rajgopal, Shivaram & Zhou, Xing (Alex), 2017. "Large shareholders and credit ratings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 632-653.
    15. Kladakis, George & Skouralis, Alexandros, 2024. "Credit rating downgrades and systemic risk," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Bae, Kee-Hong & Driss, Hamdi & Roberts, Gordon S., 2019. "Does competition affect ratings quality? Evidence from Canadian corporate bonds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 605-623.
    17. Frank Fabozzi & Vivian M. Breemen & Dennis Vink & Mike Nawas & Austin Gengos, 2023. "How much do Investors Rely on Credit Ratings: Empirical evidence from the U.S. and E.U. CLO primary market," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 221-247, April.
    18. Goergen, Marc & Gounopoulos, Dimitrios & Koutroumpis, Panagiotis, 2021. "Do multiple credit ratings reduce money left on the table? Evidence from U.S. IPOs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    19. Tao Wang, 2016. "Time-Varying Rating Standards and the Distorted Incentives of Credit Rating Agencies," Global Credit Review (GCR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(01), pages 21-39.
    20. Berwart, Erik & Guidolin, Massimo & Milidonis, Andreas, 2019. "An empirical analysis of changes in the relative timeliness of issuer-paid vs. investor-paid ratings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 88-118.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:21582440221135107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.