Profilo evolutivo del rating e prospettive di riforma

The crisis has highlighted the need for a substantial reform of the rating industry, leading to the opening of a comparison between national and supranational institutions to strengthen the legal framework. The investigation of the forms of regulation identified at international and European level on the rating company is directly related to the role that the rating has gradually assumed in the economy and financial markets. The regulators are oriented, in a first stage , to promote and then, subsequently, to discourage, or at least to reduce, the use of the rating. Starting from these premises, the present work deals with examining critically the new and more stringent rules for the activities of credit rating agencies ordered by the EU Regulation 462/2013. By incorporating most of the proposals made by the Commission in November 2011, the Regulation lays down rules aimed at increasing the efficiency of the agencies, to protect investors and ensure the transparency of the internal market. The new rules will certainly not be able to eliminate any risk or problem in the European market, but the stringent regulation in the area of governance, ownership structure , sovereign ratings, conflicts of interest and liability seems to be a solid first step towards greater transparency and stability of financial markets.