Commission Staff Working Paper Impact Assessment
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 15.11.2011 SEC(2011) 1354 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies and a Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2009/65/EC on coordination on laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) and Directive 2011/61/EU on Alternative Investment Fund Managers {COM(2011) 747 final} {SEC(2011) 1355 final} TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 4 2. Procedural issues and consultation of interested Parties.............................................. 5 2.1. Legislative process and consultation....................................................................... 5 2.2. Steering Group........................................................................................................ 5 2.3. Impact Assessment Board ....................................................................................... 5 3. Policy context...............................................................................................................6 3.1. Role of CRAs and importance of ratings ................................................................ 6 3.2. Overview of the credit rating market ...................................................................... 7 3.3. International-level initiatives on CRAs................................................................... 7 4. Problem Definition....................................................................................................... 8 4.1. Overreliance on external credit ratings leading to "cliff" effects in capital markets ............................................................................................................................... 11 4.2. Contagion effects of sovereign debt rating changes.............................................. 14 4.3. Limited choice of rating agencies and ratings for issuers and investors............... 17 4.4. Insufficient right of redress for investors .............................................................. 18 4.5. Potential conflicts of interest and other issues linked to credit rating methodologies and processes ................................................................................ 19 4.6. The baseline scenario: how would the problem evolve without EU action? ........ 21 4.7. Subsidiarity............................................................................................................ 22 5. Objectives................................................................................................................... 23 6. Identification and analysis of policy options ............................................................. 23 6.1. Policy options to reduce reliance on external credit ratings.................................. 24 6.2. Policy options to mitigate the risks of contagion effects linked to sovereign debt ratings .................................................................................................................... 30 6.3. Policy options to improve credit rating market conditions ................................... 39 6.4. Policy options to ensure right of redress for investors .......................................... 46 6.5. Policy options to reinforce independence of credit rating agencies and improve credit rating methodologies and processes............................................................ 48 7. Overall impact of the package.................................................................................... 54 7.1. Cumulative impacts and synergies........................................................................ 54 7.2. Proportionality of the package .............................................................................. 55 7.3. Impact on different stakeholders groups ............................................................... 56 7.4. Assessment of administrative burden and compliance costs................................. 57 7.5. Impact on EU budget............................................................................................. 59 7.6. Impact on fundamental rights................................................................................ 59 7.7. Social impact ......................................................................................................... 60 7.8. Environmental impact ........................................................................................... 60 7.9. Impact on SMEs .................................................................................................... 60 7.10. Coherence with other proposals ............................................................................ 60 7.11. Choice of legal instrument .................................................................................... 61 7.12. Impact on third countries....................................................................................... 64 8. Monitoring and evaluation......................................................................................... 65 Annex I. Overview of existing CRA Regulation and Possible new initiatives on CRAs (preferred options)...................................................................................................... 67 Annex II. Stakeholder Consultation......................................................................................... 77 2/193 1 – Summary of Responses to the Public Consultation Paper on new initiatives of CRAs 77 2 – Roundtable on Credit Rating Agencies ......................................................................... 82 Annex III. International context............................................................................................... 86 1 – Overview ....................................................................................................................... 86 2 – Summary of FSB Report on overreliance to external credit ratings ............................. 87 3 – Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.................................................................... 88 4 – IOSCO disclosure principles for public offerings and listings of asset-backed securities ............................................................................................................................... 90 5 – Comparison of the existing regulatory frameworks for CRAs in EU and US .............. 91 6 – Regulatory Changes in the US vs. EU new initiatives on credit rating agencies........ 100 Annex IV. Overview of CRA market..................................................................................... 105 Annex V. Overview of recent voluntary initiatives undertaken by major CRAs to enhance ratings quality........................................................................................................... 117 Annex VI. Problem definition – background and technical details ....................................... 125 Annex VII. Description of options......................................................................................... 147 Annex VIII. Analysis of the impact of policy options on stakeholders ................................. 154 Annex IX. Encouraging an existing, independent EU structure or promote a brand new European Credit Rating Agency to issue sovereign debt ratings............................. 159 Annex X. European Network of Small and Medium-sized Credit Rating Agencies............. 161 Annex XI. European Credit Rating Agency........................................................................... 164 Annex XII. Assessment of administrative burden and compliance costs .............................. 168 Annex XIII. Coherence with main legislative initiatives....................................................... 182 ANNEX XIV – Additional Technical Changes ..................................................................... 187 Annex XV. Measures against Over-reliance on External Credit Ratings in CRDIV ............ 188 Annex XVI. Glossary............................................................................................................. 189 3/193 1. INTRODUCTION Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies1 (CRA Regulation, CRA I) entered into full application on 7 December 2010. It requires credit rating agencies (CRAs) to comply with rigorous rules of conduct in order to mitigate possible conflicts of interest, ensure high quality and sufficient transparency of ratings and the rating process. Existing CRAs had to apply for registration by 7 September 2010 and had to comply with the requirements of the Regulation by that date. Competent authorities coordinated by the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) 2 are currently assessing the remaining applications for registration.3 Furthermore, on 11 May 2011 an amendment to the CRA Regulation (CRA II)4 was adopted, entrusting the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) 5 with exclusive supervisory powers over credit rating agencies registered in the EU in order to centralise and simplify their supervision at European level. From 1 July ESMA is empowered with comprehensive investigatory powers including the possibility to demand any document or data, to summon and hear persons, to conduct on-site inspections and to impose administrative sanctions, fines