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NRSRO
A nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) is a credit rating agency (CRA) approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide information that financial firms must rely on for certain regulatory purposes. History The use of the term NRSRO began in 1975 when the SEC promulgated rules regarding bank and broker-dealer net capital requirements (). Prior to 1975, the SEC did not adopt specific standards for determining which credit rating agencies were "nationally recognized", and instead addressed the question on a case-by-case basis. NRSRO recognition was granted by the SEC through a "No Action Letter" sent by the SEC staff. Under this approach, if a CRA (or investment bank or broker-dealer) were interested in using the ratings from a particular CRA for regulatory purposes, the SEC staff would research the market to determine whether ratings from that particular CRA were widely used and considered "reliable and credible." If the SEC sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Credit Rating Agency
A credit rating agency (CRA, also called a ratings service) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor's ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. An agency may rate the creditworthiness of issuers of debt obligations, of debt instruments, and in some cases, of the servicers of the underlying debt, but not of individual consumers. Other forms of a rating agency include environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) rating agencies and the Chinese Social Credit System. The debt instruments rated by CRAs include government bonds, corporate bonds, CDs, municipal bonds, preferred stock, and collateralized securities, such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations. The issuers of the obligations or securities may be companies, special purpose entities, state or local governments, non-profit organizations, or sovereign nations. A credit rating facilitates the trading of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egan-Jones Ratings Company
Egan-Jones Ratings Company is an American credit rating agency that is a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) founded in 1995 to provide "timely, accurate credit ratings." Egan-Jones rates the credit worthiness of issuers looking to raise capital in private credit markets across a range of asset classes. Typical issuers of rated securities include banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. Based in Haverford, Pennsylvania, Egan-Jones positions itself as unique among NRSROs for being primarily investor-supported, a structure designed to minimize the potential for conflicts of interest in assessing credit quality. Egan-Jones also provides ESG and proxy advisory services. History Sean Egan founded a research firm Red Flag Research in 1992 while working as a banker at Chemical Bank. He hired Bruce Jones from Moody's who was working as an analyst, and renamed the company Egan-Jones. In December 1995, the company issued i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AM Best
A.M. Best Company, Inc. is an American credit rating agency headquartered in Oldwick, New Jersey, that focuses on the insurance industry. Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have designated the company as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) in the United States. Business AM Best issues financial-strength ratings measuring insurance companies' ability to pay claims. It also rates financial instruments issued by insurance companies, such as bonds, notes, and securitization products. AM Best publishes a series of printed and online resources of insurance professionals and publications. The oldest and best known is ''Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys & Adjusters''. Insurance publications include ''BestWeek'', a weekly newsletter, ''Best's Review'', a monthly digital & print magazine, and an online wire service called ''BestWire''. History Founded in 1899 by Alfred M. Best ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morningstar, Inc
Morningstar, Inc. is an American financial services firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Joe Mansueto in 1984. It provides an array of investment research and investment management services. With operations in 29 countries, Morningstar's research and recommendations are considered by financial journalists as influential in the asset management industry, and a positive or negative recommendation from Morningstar analysts can drive money into or away from any given fund. Through its asset management division, the firm currently manages over . The firm also provides software and data platforms for investment professionals, including "Morningstar Research Portal", "Morningstar Direct" and "Morningstar Advisor Workstation". History Founder Joe Mansueto initially had the idea for Morningstar in 1982 while reviewing mutual fund annual reports he had requested from several prominent fund managers. However, it was only after a year working as a stock analyst for Harris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", along with Moody's and Standard & Poor's. History Fitch Ratings is dual headquartered in New York and London. Hearst owns 100 percent of the company following its acquisition of an additional 20 percent for $2.8 billion on April 12, 2018. Hearst had owned 80 percent of the company after increasing its ownership stake by 30 percent on December 12, 2014, in a transaction valued at $1.965 billion. Hearst's previous equity interest was 80 percent following expansions on an original acquisition of 20 percent interest in 2006. Hearst had jointly owned Fitch with FIMALAC SA, which held 20 percent of the company until the 2018 transaction. Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions are part of the Fitch Group. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demotech
Demotech, Inc., is an American insurance rating agency headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that focuses on independent, regional, and specialty companies in the property and casualty insurance (P&C) industry. It is independent from the companies that it rates. Differences An insurance rating agency issues financial-strength ratings measuring a company's ability to immediately pay claims presented. A credit rating agency issues financial-strength ratings measuring a company's ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. Traditional companies such as AM Best, Moody's Investors Service, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings do rate insurance providers, but typically only large national companies. Demotech was founded in 1985 to provide financial analysis of, and actuarial services for, niche markets ignored by Big Three (credit rating agencies). The principals were Joseph and Sharon Romano Petrelli. The U.S. Securities an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard & Poor
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is considered the largest of the Big Three credit-rating agencies, which also include Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings. Its head office is located on 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Corporate history The company traces its history back to 1860, with the publication by Henry Varnum Poor of ''History of Railroads and Canals in the United States''. This book compiled comprehensive information about the financial and operational state of U.S. railroad companies. In 1868, Henry Varnum Poor established H.V. and H.W. Poor Co. with his son, Henry William Poor, and published two annually updated hardback guidebooks, '' Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States'' and ''Poor's Directory of Railway Officials''. In 1906, Lut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Three (credit Rating Agencies)
The Big Three credit rating agencies are S&P Global Ratings (S&P), Moody's, and Fitch Group. S&P and Moody's are based in the US, while Fitch is dual-headquartered in New York City and London, and is controlled by Hearst. As of 2013 they hold a collective global market share of "roughly 95 percent" with Moody's and Standard & Poor's having approximately 40% each, and Fitch around 15%. According to an analysis by Deutsche Welle, "their special status has been cemented by law — at first only in the United States, but then in Europe as well." From the mid-1990s until early 2003, the Big Three were the only " Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs)" in the United States — a designation meaning they were used by the US government in several regulatory areas. (Four other NRSROs merged with Fitch in the 1990s.) The European Union has considered setting up a state-supported EU-based agency. The Asian credit rating market is relatively diverse. Due to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act
The Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act of 1984 (SMMEA) was an Act of Congress intended to improve the marketability of private label mortgage-backed security passthroughs. It is mentioned as a significant contributing factor in the subprime mortgage crisis. It declared nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) AA- rated mortgage-backed securities to be legal investments equivalent to Treasury securities and other federal government bonds for federally chartered banks (such as federal savings banks, federal savings associations, etc.), state-chartered financial institutions (such as depository banks and insurance companies) unless overridden by state law before October 1991 (of which 21 states did so),The 21 states that utilized the exemption provisions were Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah, Virgi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DBRS
Morningstar DBRS is a global credit rating agency with offices in Toronto, New York, Chicago, London, Frankfurt and Madrid. Morningstar DBRS provides independent credit rating services for financial institutions, corporate and sovereign entities and structured finance products and instruments. It was originally founded as Dominion Bond Rating Service in Toronto in 1976, and its operations were integrated with Morningstar Credit Ratings to form Morningstar DBRS after its acquisition by the global financial services firm Morningstar, Inc. in 2019. It is the largest rating agency in Canada. Morningstar DBRS is the fourth-largest credit rating agency by global market share, with between 2% and 3% of global market share. The company is one of only four CRAs, including Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings, to be recognized as an external credit assessment institution by the European Central Bank (ECB). In recent years, Morningstar DBRS' sovereign ratings on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Credit Rating Agency Reform Act Of 2006
The Credit Rating Agency Reform Act () is a United States federal law whose goal is to improve ratings quality for the protection of investors and in the public interest by fostering accountability, transparency, and competition in the credit rating agency industry. Enacted after being signed by President Bush on September 29, 2006, it amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Critics had complained that the dominance of "the big three" rating agencies – Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Moody's Investors Service and the smaller Fitch Rating—were in part responsible for the subprime mortgage crisis of 2006–8. The agencies rated 98% of the trillions of dollars of home-mortgage oriented "structured investment" products. Hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of securities given the agencies highest—triple-A—rating were later down ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |