Turkey moves to limit rating agencies’ influence

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey’s capital markets watchdog has announced a batch of new regulations aimed at limiting the impact of rating agencies’ investment grade announcements on the capital markets.

The rating agencies will be obliged to publicize the timetable for their rating or outlook announcements on their website and send them to the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and data distribution companies, as the board disclosed to the Official Gazette yesterday.

The rating agencies must make their general outlook statements or rating announcements on Fridays, after the closure of stock markets, under the new rules.

The SPK statement also limits the grade review deadline for these agencies to within six months.
The Turkish government has a rocky relationship with rating agencies, which it has slammed for being “unfair and ideological” most of the time.