Corporate Bond Market: The reference to rating scale in investment research under supervisory scrutiny
Summary: ESMA has indicated to some SSDA members that the reference to a rating scale to summarize credit quality in investment research could be considered as credit rating and as such reserved for registered credit rating agencies.Investment research on corporate bonds in the Nordics has developed - over several years - as an important tool enabling medium and smaller sized corporates, to gain access to funding in the capital markets. Investment research on corporate bonds including the assessment of credit quality by reference to a rating scale, often referred to in the market as