A European credit ratings agency will be set up by private sector parties, the Dutch Finance Minister said on Thursday, a move that could create a rival to the likes of Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch. Politicians in Europe have criticised the major credit rating agencies, all of which are of US origin, for not warning of the 2008 credit crisis and upsetting markets when downgrading EU sovereign debt in the past half year.
"I have heard of an initiative for a European credit rating agency. A European consultancy firm, amongst others, is setting one up," De Jager said in parliament. "We are not in favour of a public rating agency. The risk or the perception of public interference with sovereign ratings is much too big. It is already possible for the market to set up a European credit rating agency. In principle, I'm positive about this." Sovereign rating downgrades have jolted markets as advanced economies struggle with huge debt piles. European politicians have accused credit rating agencies of anti-European bias and called their downgrades a self-fulfilling prophecy.