[Shouvik Kumar Guha is an Associate Professor of Law and Sourav Paul a fourth year undergraduate student, both at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata] On July 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’), introduced the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Credit Rating Agencies) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (‘Regulation’) to amend the Securities...
Reevaluating the Independence of Credit Rating Agencies: Time for Stricter Norms?
[Akanksha Dutta is a final year student of the 3-year LLB course at Government Law College, Mumbai] Credit Rating Agencies (“CRAs”) in India play a very vital role in determining the overall financial health of a company as well as the safety of the securities issued by such companies. The assessments made by CRAs assist investors, both large and small, in evaluating the risk linked to the...
ESG Rating Providers: Analyzing India’s Proposed Regulatory Framework
[Paridhi Jain is a 5th year B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Symbiosis Law School, Noida] Once a niche market for investors, environmental, social, governance (“ESG”) investing has grown over the past few years. The pandemic is being referred to as a “sustainability” crisis and one that has re-invigorated focus on climate change, acting as a wake-up call for investors to prioritize a more...
CCI vs. SEBI: Overlapping Jurisdiction of CCI and a Sectoral Regulator
[Neha Sinha is a 4th year B.A. LL.B. student at National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi] The Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) monitors markets of all nature to identify any anti-competitive practice by persons or enterprises leading to appreciable adverse effect on competition. This means that the CCI’s powers also traverse sectors governed by special laws and regulated by...
A Critique of SEBI’s Proposed Amendment to the Credit Rating Regulatory Framework
[Rongeet Poddar is a final year B.A. LLB (Hons.) student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences] The objective of credit rating agencies (CRAs) is to reduce information asymmetry by facilitating investors to form an informed opinion on the credit-worthiness of a debt instrument. The Report of the Committee on Comprehensive Regulation for Credit Rating Agencies released by...
Crossholding in Credit Rating Agencies: An Insight into the SEBI Consultation Paper
[Kashish Jain is a 4th year B.B.A L.L.B (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, Haryana] A credit rating agency (CRA) is a service provider that assesses the creditworthiness of an entity (issuer) or a debt instrument (e.g., asset-backed securities). Typically, it expresses an opinion that is based on processing information and conducting research. CRAs seek to reduce the...
SEBI’s Enhanced Standards for Credit Rating Agencies
On November 1, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Board of India issued a circular containing Enhanced Standards for Credit Rating Agencies. These seek to introduce greater stringency in the operation of the rating industry. The areas covered include: – Formulation of Rating Criteria and rating processes and public disclosure of the same. – Accountability of Rating Analysts. –...
Unenforceable Agreements and Credit Rating Agencies
A striking feature of the credit market over the past decade or more is the growing importance of credit rating: its significance for an applicant in urgent need of credit for his business cannot be overstated. This has given rise to some difficult legal problems: an obvious one is the liability of a credit rating agency (‘CRA’) for negligent entries. Another is whether a CRA is entitled to take...
Australian Court on Rating Complex Financial Instruments
The Federal Court of Australia has delivered an important ruling that pertains to the liability of credit rating agencies. In Bathurst Regional Council v. Local Government Financial Services Pty Ltd, the court found that Standard & Poors (S&P) was liable to several local councils in Australia for a AAA rating provided in connection with their investment in complex financial instruments...
Rating Agencies Back in the Spotlight
S&P has indeed made a bold move by downgrading United States’ sovereign rating. While there may by political opposition, quibbles with the arithmetic, and the like, there is a strong view that those amount to “shooting the messenger”. The downgrading by S&P assumes greater importance because it comes in the wake of determined efforts by governments to tighten their control over credit...
Recent Comments