AFME's comment on the European Commission's proposals for credit rating agencies

16 November 2011

AFME director, Richard Hopkin, said that while the slight relaxation of the draft rotation requirements is a step in the right direction, significant questions remain.

Commenting on the European Commission proposals for credit rating agencies, announced on Tuesday 15 November 2011, Richard Hopkin, a managing director at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), said: “It is important to have more competition in the credit rating agency sector, but it is also critical to maintain the quality, stability and independence of credit ratings. Potential aspects of the new regulation are still to be discussed and we remain concerned that any ability for ESMA to suspend sovereign ratings may damage the independence of the credit rating agencies in the eyes of the financial markets.”

Press release

© AFME