No Turmoils by European Ratings

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Von Dr. Oliver Everling | 8.September 2008

„Feri, our analysts and our services were not at the origin of the problems that have arisen in the professional structured credit markets. The rating of structured financial instruments in which subprime mortgages were embedded is none of our business“, writes Feri EuroRating Services AG (www.feri.de) in its reply to the EU Commission’s DG Internal Market and Services regarding the „Authorisation, Operation and Supervision of Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs)“, proposed by a draft Directive / Regulation.

Founded in 1987 and serving approximately 1,000 customers worldwide with a focus on Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Feri EuroRating Services AG (Feri) is a leading European rating firm specialized in investment market and product ratings. We are one of the largest economic research and forecasting institutes in Europe. With around 60 employees, Feri is based in Bad Homburg, Germany, near Frankfurt, and has additional offices in London, Paris, and New York.

„We have no interest offering generally favorable opinions on the creditworthiness of such instruments“, says Feri in its comment. „We played no role in the credit markets in question, which are now suffering from a prolonged confidence deficit, with likely negative effects on the real economy and risks for financial stability.“ Due to their different approach and business model, Feri EuroRating Services AG are helping investors to better understand risks they are incurring in different markets and with different financial instruments. „None of our ratings stood in any relation to the current or any other market turmoil of the past.“

Feri prepares industry, country, capital market and real estate market ratings for clients, covering both investment potential and specific risks in their economic analyses and forecasts. The company also rates investment funds licensed in German-speaking countries. In addition, Feri produces annual market studies and ratings on special and retail investment funds. These reports provide an overview of the opinions and expected behavior of institutional investors. In addition to their global industry analysis and company ratings, Feri also produces real estate reports. Feri’s analyses of real estate markets throughout the world are vital to understanding property, portfolio, and indirect real estate investment (open-end and closed-end real estate funds) markets and real estate company ratings.

Further details of their comment on the consultation paper will soon be found at the website of the European Commission’s DG Internal Market and Services.

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