Sovereign Credit Rating Questionable Methodologies Routledge Studies in Corporate Governance Series

The current degradation of sovereign balance sheets raises very real concerns about how sovereign creditworthiness is measured by credit rating agencies. Given the disastrous economic and social effects of any downgrade, the book offers an alternative and calls for more transparency about the quantitative measures used in calibrating the rating process and how sovereign ratings are validated. It argues that oversight is required and procedures improved, including subjecting methodologies of assessing default to more standardization and monitoring.

Sovereign Credit Rating explains the process of sovereign creditworthiness assessment and explores the consequences of possible inaccuracies in the process. Developing an innovative new methodology to assess ratings accuracy, it shows that the announcement of each rating action by the major credit rating agencies show alarming inconsistencies.

Written by an internationally recognized author and professor, this unique book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in corporate governance, accounting, public finance and regulation.

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Book

Chapter 2:General Sample and General Methodology

Chapter 3: Sovereign Credit Universe

Chapter 4: Macroeconomic Environment of Sovereign Default

Chapter 5: The History of Sovereign Ratings and the Eergence of the Three Major Sovereign Credit Agencies

Chapter 6: Agencies Methodology to Sovereign Default Assessment

Chapter 7: Testing the Accuracy of Agencies’ Approach to Assessing Sovereign Worthiness

Chapter 8: Subjectivity and Asymmetry, Why Accuracy in Sovereign Ratings Should Not Be Expected

Chapter 9: Disclosure and Transparency, the Quest of Accuracy in the Sovereign Ratings

Chapter 10: Concluding Remarks, Sovereign Creditworthiness Accuracy

Data Appendices A-C

Professor Ahmed Naciri is a Researcher and author at the University of Québec in Montreal. Awarded best researcher of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. Founder of the International Centre for Governance, he advises governments and institutions (including the US Security Exchange Commission) in issues of best practices in public finance and governance.