Iosconews59
summary
On September 25, 2003, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a Statement of Principles to reinforce the independence, transparency, and integrity of credit rating agencies (CRAs) amid post-scandal concerns, without alleging specific fraud, charges, or financial misconduct.
paragraph
IOSCO released a Statement of Principles on September 25, 2003, to guide credit rating agencies (CRAs) in maintaining analytical independence and avoiding conflicts of interest. The principles require CRAs to reduce information asymmetry, ensure ratings are free from political or economic pressure, enhance transparency, and protect confidential issuer information. No specific fraud, dollar amounts, or legal charges are detailed, as the document serves as a regulatory framework rather than an enforcement action.
narrative
On September 25, 2003, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a Statement of Principles to improve the integrity and reliability of credit rating agencies (CRAs) following heightened scrutiny after major corporate scandals. The principles, developed by IOSCO’s Technical Committee and led by U.S. SEC Commissioner Roel C. Campos, emphasize four core objectives: reducing information asymmetry, ensuring independent ratings free from conflicts of interest, promoting transparency, and safeguarding confidential information. These guidelines were designed to be universally applicable across IOSCO’s 168 member jurisdictions, regardless of legal or market development differences. Alongside the Statement, IOSCO released a Report on the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies, which analyzed cross-border CRA practices and regulatory concerns. The document does not name any specific agencies, individuals, or instances of fraud, nor does it impose penalties or disclose financial losses. Instead, it provides a high-level regulatory foundation to restore investor confidence and reinforce the credibility of credit ratings. IOSCO, representing regulators from over 100 jurisdictions, framed the principles as essential to maintaining fair, efficient, and sound global financial markets.
Classified non-corporate(confidence 100%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Keywords
iosconews
Extracted insights
Entities 1
- organization International Organization Of Securities Commissions
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Extracted body text (4,680c)
--- page 1 --- ORGANIZACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE COMISIONES DE VALORES INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SECURITIES COMMISSIONS ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DES COMMISSIONS DE VALEURS ORGANIZAÇÃO INTERNACIONAL DAS COMISSÕES DE VALORES 25 September, 2003 For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE The Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions today issued a Statement of Principles regarding the manner in which CRA activities are conducted. The Statement of Principles set out high-level objectives that the Technical Committee believes will reinforce the integrity of the rating process and assist CRAs in providing investors with informed, independent opinions and analyses. These principles include: 1. CRAs should endeavor to issue opinions that help reduce the asymmetry of information among borrowers, lenders and other market participants; 2. CRA ratings decisions should be independent and free from any political or economic pressures and from any conflicts of interest arising due to the CRA’s ownership structure, business or financial activities, or the financial interests of the CRA’s employees. CRAs should, as far as possible, avoid activities, procedures or relationships that may compromise or appear to compromise the independence and objectivity of the credit rating operations; 3. CRAs should make disclosure and transparency an objective in their ratings activities; and, 4. CRAs should maintain in confidence all non-public information communicated to them by any issuer, or its agents, under the terms of a confidentiality agreement or otherwise under a mutual understanding that the information is shared confidentially. Each of the four overarching principles have sub-principles that set forth ways to achieve the main objectives. In announcing the publication of the principles for addressing analyst conflicts of interest, US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Roel C. Campos, who led the group tasked 1/2 --- page 2 --- with developing the Principles, stated, “Credit rating agencies can provide a valuable service to market participants when they issue opinions unclouded by conflicts of interest or threats to their analytical independence, where they devote themselves to offering careful, studied analysis, and where issuers provide rating agencies with the full and accurate disclosures that they should. The Technical Committee’s Statement of Principles will guide CRAs’ activities in view of their important role in our financial markets. Because these Principles focus on objectives rather than methods or standards, they will prove useful in all IOSCO jurisdictions, regardless of the level of market development, legal systems and policy choices of the different IOSCO members.” Alongside the Statement of Principles, the Technical Committee today also published its “Report on the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies.” The Report follows a cross-border study conducted by the IOSCO Credit Rating Agency Task Force, and describes how CRAs operate in different IOSCO jurisdictions, issues of concern for regulators, CRAs, investors and issuers relating to CRA activities, and how the Statement of Principles is designed to address these concerns. David Knott, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and Chairman of IOSCO’s Technical Committee, applauded the Task Force’s work: “Fairly or not, rating agencies have been in the spotlight in the wake of recent high-profile corporate scandals. The Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies offers a set of high-level approaches to buttress CRA analytical independence and protect the quality of CRA opinions in ways that reassure issuers and investors alike.” IOSCO is a world-wide forum for securities regulators that promotes cooperation and high standards of regulation in order to maintain fair, efficient and sound markets. IOSCO currently includes 168 members from more than 100 jurisdictions. The IOSCO Technical Committee comprises 15 securities regulators from larger, more internationalized markets that meet to review major regulatory issues related to international securities and futures transactions and to coordinate practical responses to these concerns. A copy of the Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies and the IOSCO Report on the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies can be accessed via the IOSCO Internet website ( www.iosco.org ) or obtained from the IOSCO General Secretariat. For more information contact: Mr. Philippe Richard Secretary General IOSCO Tel: (3491) 417 55 49 Fax: (3491) 555 93 68 Email: [email protected] 2/2
OCR text (4,680c · gpumon-ocr-api · 90% conf)
--- page 1 --- ORGANIZACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE COMISIONES DE VALORES INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SECURITIES COMMISSIONS ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DES COMMISSIONS DE VALEURS ORGANIZAÇÃO INTERNACIONAL DAS COMISSÕES DE VALORES 25 September, 2003 For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE The Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions today issued a Statement of Principles regarding the manner in which CRA activities are conducted. The Statement of Principles set out high-level objectives that the Technical Committee believes will reinforce the integrity of the rating process and assist CRAs in providing investors with informed, independent opinions and analyses. These principles include: 1. CRAs should endeavor to issue opinions that help reduce the asymmetry of information among borrowers, lenders and other market participants; 2. CRA ratings decisions should be independent and free from any political or economic pressures and from any conflicts of interest arising due to the CRA’s ownership structure, business or financial activities, or the financial interests of the CRA’s employees. CRAs should, as far as possible, avoid activities, procedures or relationships that may compromise or appear to compromise the independence and objectivity of the credit rating operations; 3. CRAs should make disclosure and transparency an objective in their ratings activities; and, 4. CRAs should maintain in confidence all non-public information communicated to them by any issuer, or its agents, under the terms of a confidentiality agreement or otherwise under a mutual understanding that the information is shared confidentially. Each of the four overarching principles have sub-principles that set forth ways to achieve the main objectives. In announcing the publication of the principles for addressing analyst conflicts of interest, US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Roel C. Campos, who led the group tasked 1/2 --- page 2 --- with developing the Principles, stated, “Credit rating agencies can provide a valuable service to market participants when they issue opinions unclouded by conflicts of interest or threats to their analytical independence, where they devote themselves to offering careful, studied analysis, and where issuers provide rating agencies with the full and accurate disclosures that they should. The Technical Committee’s Statement of Principles will guide CRAs’ activities in view of their important role in our financial markets. Because these Principles focus on objectives rather than methods or standards, they will prove useful in all IOSCO jurisdictions, regardless of the level of market development, legal systems and policy choices of the different IOSCO members.” Alongside the Statement of Principles, the Technical Committee today also published its “Report on the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies.” The Report follows a cross-border study conducted by the IOSCO Credit Rating Agency Task Force, and describes how CRAs operate in different IOSCO jurisdictions, issues of concern for regulators, CRAs, investors and issuers relating to CRA activities, and how the Statement of Principles is designed to address these concerns. David Knott, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and Chairman of IOSCO’s Technical Committee, applauded the Task Force’s work: “Fairly or not, rating agencies have been in the spotlight in the wake of recent high-profile corporate scandals. The Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies offers a set of high-level approaches to buttress CRA analytical independence and protect the quality of CRA opinions in ways that reassure issuers and investors alike.” IOSCO is a world-wide forum for securities regulators that promotes cooperation and high standards of regulation in order to maintain fair, efficient and sound markets. IOSCO currently includes 168 members from more than 100 jurisdictions. The IOSCO Technical Committee comprises 15 securities regulators from larger, more internationalized markets that meet to review major regulatory issues related to international securities and futures transactions and to coordinate practical responses to these concerns. A copy of the Statement of Principles Regarding the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies and the IOSCO Report on the Activities of Credit Rating Agencies can be accessed via the IOSCO Internet website ( www.iosco.org ) or obtained from the IOSCO General Secretariat. For more information contact: Mr. Philippe Richard Secretary General IOSCO Tel: (3491) 417 55 49 Fax: (3491) 555 93 68 Email: [email protected] 2/2