The European Commission (EC)’s decision to repeal the equivalence status for Singapore credit rating agencies (CRAs) does not impact the operations of CRAs in Singapore, the MAS has announced.
As confirmed by the EC, CRAs in Singapore will continue to be able to access the EU market through the endorsement regime which they currently operate under.
Under this regime, ratings issued by CRAs in Singapore are endorsed by their related entities in the EU and can continue to be recognized and used for regulatory purposes in the EU.
There are two existing regimes for CRAs outside of EU to have their ratings recognized and used for regulatory purposes in the EU, namely certification through the equivalence regime or endorsement.
While Singapore’s regulatory regime for CRAs no longer has equivalence status, Singapore continues to be on the list of countries that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has deemed as meeting the legal and supervisory framework for the endorsement regime.
