The Information Content of Three Credit Ratings: The Case of European Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities
The European Journal of Finance, Vol. 21, Issue 3, pp. 172-194, 2015.
Posted: 17 Jul 2014 Last revised: 23 May 2015
Date Written: December 19, 2013
Abstract
We assess the information content of three credit ratings for tranches of newly issued European residential mortgage-backed securities. We find that tranches rated by three credit rating agencies where the rating by Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) Ratings Service or Fitch is inferior to Moody’s lead to higher funding costs and reflects what we refer to as rating risk. Our results suggest that market participants do not view credit ratings by Fitch and S&P’s as redundant despite the fact that both employ the same rating approach.
Keywords: residential mortgage-backed securities, credit rating; credit rating agency
JEL Classification: G12; G14; G24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Frank J. Fabozzi (Contact Author)
Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School ( email )
100 International Drive
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States