Bankinter | The agency points to the resilience of the economy and public support in the pandemic. In the short term, it warns that the risk of “rising inflationary pressures and economic slowdown” prevail in an environment of high uncertainty. Moody’s projections for the Spanish economy are GDP +3.5% in 2022e, +1.6% in 2023e and +2% in 2024e. Average inflation of 8% in 2022e, +3.4% in 2023e and 2% in…
International credit rating agencies have had their fair share of controversies over the years. They have been at the centre of the major financial crises from the financial markets collapse of New York City in the mid-1970s, the Asian financial crisis of 1997 – 1998, the Enron scandal of 2001, to the global financial crisis of 2008. All of these cost investors globally billions. Although this has been evident through various crises – most notably the financial meltdown in 2008 – regulatory mechanisms are yet to address this problem. And, despite these known weaknesses, rating agencies are still being referenced in key financial market decisions.
Standard and Poor’s maintained Spain´s rating without changes, at A- with positive perspective. Among the reasons: the uncertainties over the next elections and the tensions in Catalonia.
MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | S&P has upgraded Spain’s credit rating for the first time since stripping the country of its AAA grade in 2009, increasing its assessment to BBB from BBB- and saying the outlook is stable. But ten-year Spanish bond yields stay at 3.004% following last week’s auction, while the U.S. benchmark 10-year note yield, was up 1.5 basis points at 2.550%, according to Tradeweb. A BBB player is getting more or less the same treatment in the market as a AA+.
OP-ED By Ana Fuentes | Italy’s Corte dei Conti has opened an investigation against rating agencies for unjustified downgrading of the country in 2011 and 2012. S&P, Fitch and Moody’s face a potentially huge claim of €234bn for not considering Italy’s contribution to the world’s cultural patrimony. Will other countries follow Rome? Should the Parthenon or the Alhambra be taken into account when deciding Greece or Spain sovereign debt value?
MADRID | By Alex García.
MADRID| By Luis Martí | Lower ratings undermine market confidence, and weak market conditions are displayed as a major cause of your own lack of confidence. Looping the loop. No wonder investors rely less and less on ratings agencies.
The text provides for “civil liability in the event of intent or grave negligence.” In a bid to prevent conflicts of interest, it also forbids investors from owning more than 5% of the capital of two different agencies.
LONDON | The Investment Management Association sent Friday an unequivocal message to the European Commission: do mess with the risk rating agencies at your peril. In its written submission to the Treasury Select Committee Inquiry into credit rating agencies, the trade body for the UK’s £4 trillion asset management industry IMA defended the independent role of credit rating agencies. The IMA said they must be allowed to act free from political interference….
By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | After some weeks of good tone in the European stock markets, they suffered the consequences on Monday of the massive rating cut by S&P last weekend. The Ibex35 woke up today with shares drowning in red, except for Ebro Foods and Gas Natural, and is being dominated by volatility for the rest of the day.However, it is the rating agencies’s credibility which is being called…