01980cas a2200265 a 4500 AALejournalIMF011638 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781463931858 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Kiff, John. Are Rating Agencies Powerful? : An Investigation Into the Impact and Accuracy of Sovereign Ratings / John Kiff, Sylwia Nowak, Liliana Schumacher. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2012. 1 online resource (35 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students We find that Credit Rating Agencies (CRA)'s opinions have an impact in the cost of funding of sovereign issuers and consequently ratings are a concern for financial stability. While ratings produced by the major CRAs perform reasonably well when it comes to rank ordering default risk among sovereigns, there is evidence of rating stability failure during the recent global financial crisis. These failures suggest that ratings should incorporate the obligor's resilience to stress scenarios. The empirical evidence also supports: (i) reform initiatives to reduce the impact of CRAs' certification services; (ii) more stringent validation requirements for ratings if they are to be used in capital regulations; and (iii) more transparency with regard to the quantitative parameters used in the rating process. Mode of access: Internet Nowak, Sylwia. Schumacher, Liliana. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2012/023 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2012/023/001.2012.issue-023-en.xml IMF e-Library