Regulation of rating agencies: getting it right

12/11/2008

The Liberals and Democrats at the European Parliament support a proposal on the regulation of rating agencies, tabled today by the European Commission. The four major aspects of the proposal match the expectations of the ALDE-Group, expressed in earlier proposals of the European Parliament:
- prevent conflicts of interest and guarantee the independence of ratings;
- reassure the quality of ratings;
- set clear transparency and disclosure obligations;
- set up an effective registration and surveillance regime.

The Commission's proposal follows the right direction and will ensure an orderly admission of rating agencies  
Wolf KLINZ

Wolf KLINZ (FDP, Germany), coordinator of the ALDE-Group at the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee commented:
"The Commission's proposal follows the right direction and will ensure an orderly admission of rating agencies,
more transparency and an enhanced cooperation between the national supervisory authorities. I also welcome the
strengthening of the Committee of European securities regulators, the EU's platform for national securities
regulators".

"However, the proposal does not yet solve the problem of the lack of competition. In this regard we will have to
improve it, as we must achieve, particularly in Europe, significantly lower market entry barriers. We should
encourage companies, which so far have been active only at a national scale, to further engage in cross–border
activities", KLINZ noted.

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