Information Effect of Entry into Credit Ratings Market: The Case of Insurers’ Ratings
Journal
Journal of Financial Economics
ISSN
0304-405X
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-06-01
Author(s)
Abstract
The paper analyzes the effect of competition between credit rating agencies (CRAs) on the information content of ratings. We show that a monopolistic CRA pools sellers into multiple rating classes and has partial market coverage. This provides an opportunity for market entry. The entrant designs a rating scale distinct from that of the incumbent. It targets higher-than-average companies in each rating grade of the incumbent's rating scale and employs more stringent rating standards. We use Standard and Poor's (S&P) entry into the market for insurance ratings previously covered by a monopolist, A.M. Best, to empirically test the impact of entry on the information content of ratings. The empirical analysis reveals that S&P required higher standards to assign a rating similar to the one assigned by A.M. Best and that higher-than-average quality insurers in each rating category of A.M. Best chose to receive a second rating from S&P.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Elsivier
Volume
106
Number
2
Start page
308
End page
330
Pages
23
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
260528