In this paper, we empirically investigate two economic issues (1) the factors that affect the primary market spread on non-U.S. asset-backed securities and (2) whether investors rely solely on credit ratings and ignore other credit-related factors. We do so by using a panel-data fixed-effects...

This paper takes a look at two areas where the subprime crisis has triggered debate and is paving the way for possible movement towards greater global regulation: international banking supervision and the role of credit rating agencies. It surveys the varied range of opinions on the role that...

Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) have been a market entity relatively neglected by regulators and commenters, despite the increasing importance they have had in the 20th century financial markets development. Different legal system as United States of America and European Union have both recently...

A short overview of the regulation -or lack thereof- of Credit Rating Agencies across the US and Europe. The article focuses on the rationale behind the lack of regulation that has characterized credit rating agencies for so many years, and comments on some approaches that have been suggested at...

I examine the effects of contemporaneous credit rating and watchlist announcements on the over-the-counter U.S. corporate bond market. I find significant negative daily abnormal returns (-2.91%) over a ten-day window associated with a downgrade announcement with negative watch. The effect is...