Are credit ratings procyclical?

被引:145
作者
Amato, JD [1 ]
Furfine, CH
机构
[1] Bank Int Settlements, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
[2] Fed Reserve Bank Chicago, Chicago, IL 60604 USA
关键词
rating agencies; business cycles; credit risk;
D O I
10.1016/j.jbankfin.2004.06.005
中图分类号
F8 [财政、金融];
学科分类号
0202 ;
摘要
This paper studies the influence of the state of the business cycle on credit ratings. In particular, we assess whether rating agencies are excessively procyclical in their assignment of ratings. Our analysis is based on a model of ratings determination that takes into account factors that measure the business and financial risks of firms, in addition to indicators of macroeconomic conditions. Utilizing annual data on all US firms rated by Standard & Poor's, we find that ratings do not generally exhibit excess sensitivity to the business cycle. In addition, we document that previously reported findings of a secular tightening of ratings standards are not robust to a more complete accounting of systematic changes to measures of risk. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:2641 / 2677
页数:37
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