Press Release: Financial services: The European Commission consults on further policy in the field of credit rating agencies

As part of its further work in creating a sounder financial system, the Commission services have launched today a broad consultation on credit rating agencies (CRAs). Whilst credit rating agencies are important actors in the financial markets, recent developments during the euro debt crisis have shown that there may be a need to re-examine certain aspects of the current regulatory framework. There are growing concerns that financial institutions and institutional investors may be relying too much on external ratings and do not carry out sufficient internal credit risk assessments, which may lead to volatile markets and instability of the financial system. The purpose of this consultation is to open a wider debate and get input from all stakeholders in order to calibrate the scope and ambition of any possible future legislative initiative in the field of credit rating agencies. These issues are similar to those raised at a global level in the recent Financial Stability Report. The deadline for replies is 7 January 2011.