Eurozone Debt Crisis and Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies

The credit rating agencies (CRAs) have received a great deal of media, political, and regulatory attention since the early summer of 2007. With 2008 financial crisis, there was a common argument that CRAs had not been held accountable for the poor performance that resulted in flawed outcomes. Literature review on CRAs' role in the Europe sovereign debt further strengthened this argument. Through an in-depth study of extensive literature available, we focus on how the rating announcements affected the markets. We also highlight the EU regulations that came into force after a series of downgrades in the Eurozone.