Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System

"Introduction: Ratings, Rating Agencies and the Global Financial System: Summary and Policy Implications".- I. History, Value and Industrial Structure of Credit Rating and Reporting Agencies.- 1 A Historical Primer on the Business of Credit Rating.- 2 The Credit Rating Industry: An Industrial Organization Analysis.- 3 The Paradox of Credit Ratings.- Discussants.- Discussants.- II. Empirical Evidence on Credit Rating Agencies: Pricing and Regulatory Aspects.- 4 The Role of Credit Ratings in Bank Capital.- 5 A Guide to Choosing Absolute Bank Capital Requirements.- 6 Credit Ratings and the Japanese Corporate Bond Market.- 7 How Good is the Market at Assessing Bank Fragility? A Horse Race between Different Indicators.- 8 Rating Banks in Emerging Markets: What Credit Rating Agencies Should Learn from Financial Indicators.- Discussants.- Discussants.- Discussants.- III. Empirical Evidence on Credit Ratings Agency's Performance: Macroeconomic Aspects.- 9 Rating Agencies and Financial Markets.- 10 Sovereign Credit Ratings Before and After Financial Crises.- 11 Equity Risk Premiums.- IV. Policy Issues Facing Regulators and Credit Rating Agencies.- 12 Rating Agencies: Is There an Agency Issue?.- 13 Do Banks Provision for Bad Loans in Good Times? Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications.- 14 Policy Issues Facing Rating Agencies.- 15 Credit Risk and Financial Instability.- Author Index.