ESMA initiates examination of rating methods of Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's

The European Sales and Marketing Association (ESMA) has initiated the examination of methods that are used by three major rating agencies - Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's – in the rankings of financial institutions, the ESMA Chairman, Steven Maijoor told the Financial Times.


"Bank ratings are very important, as they relate to sovereign ratings
and government bonds," Gazeta.ru quotes Maijoor.


The FT notes that until 2012 the activities of rating agencies have
not been regulated in Europe, but later the European Union demanded
their registration in the ESMA.

The examination should be completed by the end of the year. Maijoor
said that the concerns of the ESMA over "the existence of sufficient
analytical resources in the agencies" are growing. "It is very
important that any ranking was compiled with all the details and
sufficient analysis," Maijoor stressed.

Moody's downgraded the ratings of Russia's Rosbank, 28 Spanish
banks and five Dutch banks in June.