This white paper was commissioned by the Council of Institutional Investors for the purpose of educating its members, policymakers, and the general public about important credit rating agency regulation proposals and their potential impact on investors. It offers an institutional investor...

Background: The motivation for this article is the observation of political and private efforts to establish an EU-based rating agency as a counterweight to the three major agencies and observe other approaches to increase competition in the rating market. Objectives: This article aims to...

The market for external ratings is dominated worldwide as well as in the European Union (EU) by three major credit rating agencies (CRAs). These "Big Three" are Standard & Poor's (S&P), Moody's and Fitch Ratings. Due to the oligopolistic market structure and possible involvement in the 2008...