This paper examines why unsolicited ratings tend to be lower than solicited ratings. Both self-
selection among issuers and strategic conservatism of rating agencies may be reasonable …

There has been considerable controversy over unsolicited credit ratings in recent years.
Some dissatisfied issuers allege that unsolicited ratings are biased downward in contrast to …

In recent years credit rating agencies have started rating firms who have not asked for a
rating. Recipients of unsolicited ratings argue that the assigned ratings are too low and …

Rating agencies are often criticized for being biased in favor of borrowers, for being too slow
to downgrade following credit quality deterioration, and for being oligopolists. Based on a …

We analyze the relatively new phenomenon of credit ratings on syndicated loans, asking first
whether they convey information to the capital markets. Our event studies show that initial …

This paper analyses the effect of soliciting a rating on the actual outcome of bank ratings.
Using two sample banks (one rated by Fitch and one rated by S&P), I find evidence that …

We test whether the tendency of third rating agencies to assign higher ratings than Moody's
and Standard & Poors results from more lenient standards or sample selection bias. More …

The question of whether banks are relatively more opaque than non-banking firms is
empirically investigated by analyzing the disagreement between rating agencies (split …

Many regulations use private sector credit ratings to determine investment prohibitions and
capital requirements for institutional portfolio investments. These regulations implicitly …

Credit rating agencies do not only disclose simple ratings but announce watchlists (rating
reviews) and outlooks as well. This paper analyzes the economic function underlying the …