The Rating Agencies and Their Credit Ratings

“At a time of unprecedented public and political scrutiny of the effectiveness and indeed the basic business model of the Credit Rating industry, and heightened concerns regarding the transparency and accountability of the leading agencies, this book provides a commendably comprehensive overview, and should provide invaluable assistance in the ongoing debate.” ?Rupert Atkinson, Managing Director, Head of Credit Advisory Group, and member of the SIFMA Rating Agency Task Force “The Langhors have provided useful information in a field where one frequently finds only opinions or misconceptions. They supply a firm base from which to understand changes now underway. A well-read copy of this monograph should be close to the desk of every investor, issuer and financial regulator, legislator or commentator.” ?John Grout, Policy and Technical Director, The Association of Corporate Treasurers

HERWIG LANGOHR was Professor of Finance and Banking at INSEAD, in Fontainebleau, France, which he joined in 1976, specialising in corporate finance, financial services and corporate governance. Professor Langohr served on several boards of directors, including the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of the financial services group KBC Group N.V. He was also a regular advisor in corporate finance and strategy in the banking sector. He contributed to academic journals such as The Journal of Monetary Economics, The Journal of Financial Economics and The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking and a number of professional journals. He passed away on 28 May 2008 at the age of 64.

PATRICIA LANGOHR is Professor of Economics at the ESSEC Business School, in Cergy, France, since 2005. Her research specializes in industrial organization, dynamic models of competition and the financial services industry. Prior to that, she was a researcher at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington D.C. Professor Langohr obtained her PhD in Managerial Economics from Kellogg at Northwestern University. She has a Diploma in Economics from the Humboldt Universität in Berlin and a Maîtrise in Monetary Economics and Banking from the Université Paris IX Dauphine.