This book details the difference between the two rating industries, but this difference is converging all the time. The concept of investing in a more responsible and sustainable manner is drawing in some of the world’s leading investors and, with it, regulations and policies are developing at the highest levels. However, the market is not getting what it needs to fully submit to the concept of responsible investing. It has called for more to be done from those tasked with injecting information into their processes, and two industries in particular have been identified as being natural partners. It has been suggested that they are on a collision course to serve the mainstream investor, and in this book, that collision course is contextualised, explained, presented, and finally its outcome predicted.

This Palgrave Pivot aims to examine the bourgeoning relationship between the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Credit Rating Industry. Since May of 2016, when the partnership was initially publicised, the PRI have endeavoured to incorporate Credit Rating Agencies into its initiative via its ‘ESG in Credit Ratings Initiative’, and have been working diligently to find, and create common ground between Credit Rating Agencies and Institutional Investors seeking to be more forward-looking in their investment approaches. However, in recent years the ‘Big Two’ Credit Rating Agencies – Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s – have finally received record fines for their conduct in the run-up to the Financial Crisis. There is a need, then, to examine the incorporation of the Credit Rating Agencies into such a progressive initiative. To achieve this objective, this book examines the field of ‘responsible investing’, the credit rating industry, and the power dynamic that exists between the rating industry, investors, and the PRI (via its ‘Initiative’).

ESG Rating Agencies and Financial Regulation presents an essential and nuanced understanding of rating agencies through the utilisation of signalling theory. Daniel Cash provides fresh insight on the role of ESG rating agencies in the financial market and explores the relationship between ESG and modern business practices to explain the continued drive for effective ESG rating agencies.

Credit rating agencies play a critical role in capital markets, guiding the asset allocation of institutional investors as private capital moves freely around the world in search of the best trade-off between risk and return. However, they have also been strongly criticised for failing to spot the Asian crisis in the early 1990s, the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat collapses in the early 2000s and finally for their ratings of subprime-related structured finance instruments and their role in the current financial crisis. This book is a guide to ratings, the ratings industry and the mechanics and economics of obtaining a rating. It sheds light on the role that the agencies play in the international financial markets. It avoids the sensationalist approach often associated with studies of rating scandals and the financial crisis, and instead provides an objective and critical analysis of the business of ratings. The book will be of practical use to any individual who has to deal with ratings and the ratings industry in their day-to-day job. Reviews "Rating agencies fulfil an important role in the capital markets, but given their power, they are frequently the object of criticism. Some of it is justified but most of it portrays a lack of understanding of their business. In their book The Rating Agencies and their Credit Ratings, Herwig and Patricia Langohr provide an excellent economic background to the role of rating agencies and also a thorough understanding of their business and the problems they face. I recommend this book to all those who have an interest in this somewhat arcane but extremely important area." -Robin Monro-Davies, Former CEO, Fitch Ratings. "At a time of unprecedented public and political scrutiny of the effectiveness and indeed the basic business model of the Credit Rating industry, and heightened concerns regarding the transparency and accountability of the leading agencies, this book provides a commendably comprehensive overview, and should provide invaluable assistance in the ongoing debate." -Rupert Atkinson, Managing Director, Head of Credit Advisory Group, Morgan Stanley and member of the SIFMA Rating Agency Task Force "The Langohrs have provided useful information in a field where one frequently finds only opinions or misconceptions. They supply a firm base from which to understand changes now underway. A well-read copy of this monograph should be close to the desk of every investor, issuer and financial regulator, legislator or commentator." -John Grout, Policy and Technical Director, The Association of Corporate Treasurers

ESG Rating Agencies and Financial Regulation presents an essential and nuanced understanding of rating agencies through the utilisation of signalling theory. Daniel Cash provides fresh insight on the role of ESG rating agencies in the financial market and explores the relationship between ESG and modern business practices to explain the continued drive for effective ESG rating agencies. This cutting-edge book offers analyses of the latest regulatory endeavours involving ESG ratings while acknowledging the pitfalls of such agencies, including a lack of transparency and variant stakeholder preferences. Through the application of signalling theory, Cash concludes that while credit ratings agencies continue to prevail due to the sense of trust provided by the involvement of third parties in financial transactions, the same is not yet true of ESG rating agencies. Cash demonstrates that for these agencies to be truly efficient they must operate as an oligopoly, an approach that may seem uncomfortable to many. The book provides an up-to-date investigation of why a natural oligopoly is desired in the ESG rating space and summarises the consequences of this for both investors and regulators. Academics and students of financial law, economics, and financial sustainability will find this book to be an invaluable resource. Due to its practical implications, the book will additionally benefit sustainability-concerned regulators.

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) have played an increasingly influential role in global capital markets over the last three decades and the ratings they assign to the debt issued by corporations, financial institutions and sovereigns are used to guide the investment and capital allocation decisions of the world's largest investment managers and asset owners. In recent years, CRAs have been criticised for their role as "key enablers" of the financial crisis. Policy makers, recognising that rating agency decisions have potentially systemic consequences and impact public finances, continue to debate their role, function and influence on governments, companies and markets. Drawing on stakeholder theory and utilising a mixed methodology for data gathering that combines desk-based research and qualitative interviews, this paper identifies the key stakeholders for CRAs in relation to sustainability for the first time and presents their emerging views on the role and responsibility of the ratings industry in the transition to a sustainable economy. This paper argues that the industry does have a role to play in this transition. However, this role is yet to be defined by stakeholders, or acknowledged by CRAs. It finds that CRAs do not yet embed consideration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in their ratings criteria or processes in any systematic and transparent way, while the regulatory reform agenda for CRAs also largely ignores sustainability issues. This suggests that the current rating methodologies and analytical approaches of the CRAs are themselves largely unsustainable. It argues that CRAs that do not systematically and transparently integrate ESG issues within their criteria and ratings are actually increasing - rather than simply measuring - credit risk for individual issuers and raising systemic risk for the market as a whole, while at the same time creating negative outcomes for capital markets, the environment and society. It finds that a greater focus on ESG issues by CRAs will enable them to provide a more credible and holistic assessment of the credit risks facing issuers, help the industry rebuild its reputation following the financial crisis and retain a license to operate which is increasingly under threat of withdrawal by regulators and investors, and incentivise investors, issuers and other market participants to devote greater attention to sustainability issues.