Ratings issued by credit rating agencies in Singapore will continue to be recognised and used in the EU
29 August 2019
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued a media release on 29 July 2019 in relation to the European Commission’s recent decision to repeal the equivalence status for Singapore credit rating agencies (“CRAs”). The media release clarifies that this decision does not impact the operation of CRAs in Singapore.
There are two existing regimes for CRAs situated outside of the European Union (“EU”) to avail themselves, namely certification through the equivalence regime or endorsement. Despite the repeal of equivalence status in the EU, CRAs in Singapore will continue to be able to access the EU market through the endorsement regime under which they currently operate.
The MAS media release states that while Singapore’s regulatory regime for CRAs no longer has equivalence status, Singapore continues to be on the list of countries that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has deemed as meeting the legal and supervisory framework for the endorsement regime. Under this regime, ratings issued by CRAs in Singapore are endorsed by their related entities in the EU, and can continue to be recognised and used for regulatory purposes in the EU.
Reference materials
The media release is available on the MAS website www.mas.gov.sg or by clicking here.