Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System, 2002 The New York University Salomon Center Series on Financial Markets and Institutions Series, Vol. 9

Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System brings together the research of economists at New York University and the University of Maryland, along with those from the private sector, government bodies, and other universities. The first section of the volume focuses on the historical origins of the credit rating business and its present day industrial organization structure. The second section presents several empirical studies crafted largely around individual firm-level or bank-level data. These studies examine (a) the relationship between ratings and the default and recovery experience of corporate borrowers, (b) the comparability of credit ratings made by domestic and foreign rating agencies, and (c) the usefulness of financial market indicators for rating banks, among other topics. In the third section, the record of sovereign credit ratings in predicting financial crises and the reaction of financial markets to changes in credit ratings is examined. The final section of the volume emphasizes policy issues now facing regulators and credit rating agencies.

“Introduction: Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System: Summary and Policy Implications”.- I. History, Value and Industrial Structure of Credit Rating and Reporting Agencies.- 1 A Historical Primer on the Business of Credit Rating.- 2 The Credit Rating Industry: An Industrial Organization Analysis.- 3 The Paradox of Credit Ratings.- Discussants.- Discussants.- II. Empirical Evidence on Credit Rating Agencies: Pricing and Regulatory Aspects.- 4 The Role of Credit Ratings in Bank Capital.- 5 A Guide to Choosing Absolute Bank Capital Requirements.- 6 Credit Ratings and the Japanese Corporate Bond Market.- 7 How Good is the Market at Assessing Bank Fragility? A Horse Race between Different Indicators.- 8 Rating Banks in Emerging Markets: What Credit Rating Agencies Should Learn from Financial Indicators.- Discussants.- Discussants.- Discussants.- III. Empirical Evidence on Credit Ratings Agency’s Performance: Macroeconomic Aspects.- 9 Rating Agencies and Financial Markets.- 10 Sovereign Credit Ratings Before and After Financial Crises.- 11 Equity Risk Premiums.- IV. Policy Issues Facing Regulators and Credit Rating Agencies.- 12 Rating Agencies: Is There an Agency Issue?.- 13 Do Banks Provision for Bad Loans in Good Times? Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications.- 14 Policy Issues Facing Rating Agencies.- 15 Credit Risk and Financial Instability.- Author Index.