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This paper re-examines the dependence structure between uncertainty in oil prices and sovereign credit risk of oil exporters. To address this issue, we employ a copula approach that allows us to capture asymmetric and nonlinear dependence structures. Empirical analyses involve daily data of the 5-year sovereign credit default swaps spreads and the crude oil implied volatility from January 2010 to May 2019, covering a sample of ten oil-exporting countries. Except for Brazil and Venezuela, our results provide evidence of significant positive and upper tail dependence in the relationship between oil market uncertainty and oil exporters' sovereign risk. Overall, our findings highlight that high uncertainty in oil prices coincides with large-scale increases in the sovereign credit risk of oil-exporting countries, supporting the hypothesis that investors, exposed to economic losses from risk events in oil exporters, are all the more pessimistic that prevails high uncertainty about future oil prices. Our findings have implications for oil exporter’ policymakers as well as investors.

Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) provide credit information related to sovereign bonds and play a crucial role in international financial markets. This study investigates whether CRAs sovereign credit news such as rating changes, outlook, and credit watch status affects Brazil’s financial stability as represented by credit risk and solvency risk of Brazilian banks. Using a panel with a sample of 125 banks, the results reveal that the sovereign credit news alters credit risk coverage (credit provisions) and solvency risk (capital buffer) secured by Brazilian banks. The improvement of Brazilian sovereign risk leads banks to reduce their protections against credit risk (credit provisions) and capital level, which can threaten financial stability.

This paper investigates the impact of infectious diseases on the evolution of sovereign credit default swap (CDS) spreads for a panel of 77 advanced and developing countries. Using annual data over the 2004-2020 period, we find that infectious-disease outbreaks have no discernible effect on CDS spreads, after controlling for macroeconomic and institutional factors. However, our granular analysis using high-frequency (daily) data indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on market-implied sovereign default risk. This adverse effect appears to be more pronounced in advanced economies, which may reflect the greater severity of the pandemic and depth of the ensuing economic crisis in these countries as well as widespread underreporting in developing countries due to differences in testing availability and institutional capacity. While our analysis also shows that more stringent domestic containment measures help lower sovereign CDS spreads, the macro-fiscal cost of efforts aimed at curbing the spread of the disease could undermine credit worthiness and eventually push the cost of borrowing higher.

The sovereign credit ratings (SCRs) have been an integral part in the global financial system in asset allocation and price discovery. The zero bound policy rate (ZBPR) and quantitative easing programme (QEP) rolled out by the four key central banks as antidotes to the global financial crisis (GFC) would have altered the assumed premise on SCRs relevancy. This preliminary study is crafted for a validation on whether the SCRs informational value on sovereign bond yields (SBYs) and sovereign credit default swap spreads (SCDSSs) was indeed affected when ZBPR and QEP were in effect. A sample of 32 countries with observations spanning from 2008 to 2017 to encompass the period of ZBPR and QEP in effect was used for analysis. The empirical results show that SCRs informational value was indeed rendered irrelevant on SBYs price discovery since 2008 and the effect on SCDSSs came in later from 2012 onwards.

This project examines the response of U.S. state governors to COVID-19. Varying policy responses by U.S. states during the COVID-19 crisis will produce different risks of illness and death for each states' residents. We explain why some governors are more or less willing and able to face that risk. We expect Republican governors' facing less fiscal constraints will be more likely to risk easing social distancing restrictions early. As a preliminary analysis, we have already examined states' decisions to implement Stay-at-Home orders. We are preregistering our expectations for states' decisions to ease Stay-at-Home orders.

Purpose Relative risk ratings measure the degree by which a country’s sovereign rating is better or worse than other countries (Basu et al., 2013). However, the literature on the impacts of sovereign ratings on capital flows has not covered the role of relative risk ratings. This paper aims to examine the effect of relative risk ratings on private capital flows to emerging and frontier market economies is filled. In the analysis, the effect of relative risk ratings to that of absolute sovereign ratings in influencing private capital flows are compared. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the influence of sovereign credit ratings and relative risk ratings on private capital flows to 26 emerging and frontier market economies using quarterly data for a 20-year period between 1998 and 2017. A dynamic panel regression model is used to estimate the relationship between ratings and capital flows after controlling for other factors that can influence capital flows such as growth and interest rate differentials and global risk conditions. Findings The analysis finds that while absolute sovereign credit ratings were an important determinant of net capital inflows prior to the global financial crisis in 2008, the influence of relative risk ratings increased in the post-crisis period. The post-crisis effect of relative ratings appears to be driven mostly by portfolio flows. The main results are robust to an alternate measure of capital flows (gross capital flows instead of net capital flows), to the use of fixed gross domestic product weights in calculating relative risk ratings and to the potential endogeneity of absolute and relative ratings. Originality/value This study advances the literature on being the first attempt to understand the impact of relative risk ratings on capital flows and also comparing the impact of absolute sovereign ratings and relative risk ratings on capital flows in the pre- and post-global financial crisis periods. The findings imply that emerging and frontier markets need to pay greater attention to their relative economic performance and not just their sovereign ratings.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the nexus between banks’ foreign assets and sovereign default risk in a panel of 15 developed economies. The empirical evidence suggests that banks’ foreign exposure is an important determinant of sovereign default probability. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the consolidated banking statistics (total foreign claims on ultimate risk basis) by the Bank of International Settlements, the author constructs a measure of bank international exposure to peer countries. This measure is then used as the target variable in a panel regression for sovereign credit default swaps. The model includes 15 European and non-European developed economies. Identification is discussed extensively in the paper. Findings Quantitatively, a 1% increase in banks’ cross-border claims increases sovereign default risk by about 0.19%. The relationship is weaker when banks are more capitalised. On the other hand, governments are more vulnerable to credit risk spillovers from banks’ international portfolios when having higher debt to GDP ratios. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper that attempts explicitly to establish an empirical connection between banks’ international assets and sovereign default risk. To the author’s opinion, this paper represents a contribution to our understanding of how sovereign credit risk spills over across countries. It also extends significantly the existing literature on the determinants of sovereign risk (that primarily focused on fundamentals, market characteristics – such as liquidity – and global factors). This paper ultimately sheds some new light on the role of intermediaries in the international transmission of credit risk, also adding to today’s discussion about the linkages between banks and sovereigns.

This paper asks whether the sensitivity of market long-term interest rates and credit ratings is associated with cross-country differences in social trust. We note a number of theoretical mechanisms that suggest that macroeconomic shocks are more likely to be effectively dealt with in higher-trust societies. A set of panel estimates across middle- and high-income countries reveals that interest rates and credit ratings are substantially more sensitive to inflation and growth problems in low-trust countries. This finding sheds light on the differential market reactions to macroeconomic problems in seemingly comparable countries.

ESG has become a hot topic in investment circles. In this article, we train the ESG lens on sovereign debt. We carry out an empirical analysis to assess whether environmental, social, and governance factors drive pricing and investment returns of sovereign external debt. Our major finding is that ESG considerations matter for sovereign bond investing, even after relevant macroeconomic and credit variables are taken into consideration. This is particularly the case for emerging markets, where we document evidence of an additional ESG risk premium relative to developed markets. Furthermore, by testing an ESG-focused investment strategy, we examine the hypothesis that ESG could potentially detract from investment returns. We find no evidence over our historical time frame that an ESG-focused investment strategy results in any investment disadvantage. In addition, our results suggest support for potential advantages of an active approach to ESG portfolio management. TOPICS:ESG investing, fixed income and structured finance, portfolio construction, performance measurement Key Findings ▪ Our research shows that ESG (environmental, social, and governance) scores are significant drivers of sovereign credit spreads. Debt issued by countries with high social and governance scores in particular, tend to have tighter credit spreads. ▪ The relationship between ESG scores and credit spreads is particularly strong for emerging market countries, where we find evidence of an additional ESG risk premium relative to developed markets. ▪ We find no evidence that investors are penalized for ESG-aware investment strategies in the form of lower returns, but our analysis does support the case for in-depth ESG analysis in the context of an active approach to portfolio management.

For decades, the credit rating market has been dominated by three major agencies (Moody's, S&P and Fitch Ratings). Their oligopolistic dominance is especially strong in sovereign credit ratings industry, where they hold a collective global share of more than 99%. Global financial crisis and the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis exposed serious flaws in rating process and forced public authorities to act. This study investigates effectiveness of new regulations adopted in the United States and in the European Union after financial crises in terms of reducing oligopolistic dominance of the “Big Three” in sovereign credit ratings market. The study applies descriptive statistical analysis of economic indicators describing concentration rate in a market, as well as content analysis of legal acts and case study methodology. Analysis shows that the Dodd-Frank reform and new European rules on supervision of credit rating agencies were not effective enough and did not lead to the increased competition in the market. The evidence from this study is explained using two alternative perspectives – economic theory of natural oligopoly and hegemonic stability theory coming from international relations field.

We examine the relationship between sovereign credit ratings and international equity and bond inflows pre- and post-Great Recession using 1996–2016 annual data for 53 countries. The ratings are st...

While studies show a consistent negative relationship between the level of corruption and range indicators of national-level economic performance, including sovereign credit ratings, we know less about the relationship between corruption and subnational credit ratings. This study suggests that federal transfers allow states with higher levels of corruption to retain good credit ratings, despite the negative economic implications of corruption more broadly, which also allows them to continue to borrow at low costs. Using data on corruption conviction in US states and credit ratings between 2001 and 2015, we show that corruption does not directly reduce credit ratings on average. We find, however, heterogeneous effects, in that there is a negative effect of corruption on credit ratings only in states that have a comparatively low level of fiscal dependence on federal transfers. This suggest that while less dependent states are punished by international assessors when seen as more corrupt, corruption does not affect the ratings of states with higher levels of fiscal dependence on federal revenue.

This paper studies the role of IMF-supported programs in mitigating the likelihood of subsequent sovereign defaults in borrowing countries. Using a panel of 106 developing countries from 1970 to 2016 and an entropy balancing methodology, we find that IMF-supported programs significantly reduce the likelihood of subsequent sovereign defaults. This finding is robust to different specifications of the entropy balancing and alternative identification strategies. Our results suggest that a country that signs a program with the IMF typically experiences a slight improvement in its sovereign credit rating and a decrease in both government debt-to-GDP and fiscal deficit-to-GDP during the program period compared to the period before. Supplementary Information The online version supplementary material available at 10.1057/s41308-021-00135-7.

Does the political ideology of governments influence credit ratings? Previous studies report that the economic left–right dimension has an impact on credit ratings. However, recent literature shows that there are no significant differences between right-wing and left-wing debt-related policies. In addition, current political developments, such as the rise of populist movements, indicate that the economic left–right dimension may not be sufficient to describe how political ideology affects governments’ actions and thereby credit ratings. Therefore, this paper suggests that the socio-cultural dimension of political ideology or the GAL-TAN (Green–Alternative–Liberal vs. Traditionalist–Authoritarian–Nationalist) also impacts a country’s rating. In particular, the study proposes that TAN-leaning governments are perceived as a risk factor for debt repayment because they are less likely to adhere to rule of law and are reluctant to cooperate with international organizations and other domestic political parties. They also prefer protectionist policies for cultural reasons. Using data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey for 24 European countries between 1999 and 2019, the results show that governments with TAN-leaning major parties are associated with lower sovereign credit ratings. This study contributes toward a closer understanding of what role day-to-day politics and governments’ political ideology have for the assignment of credit ratings.

It is well-documented that government bonds with almost identical cash flows can trade at different prices. This article analyzes the cross-section of bond spreads across developed European countries and documents a novel result. While a measure of the convenience yield of government bonds helps explain these spreads, it cannot explain the behavior of bond spreads in periods of widening credit risk. The article documents bond spreads between new and old issues tighten for low-quality sovereigns. In other words, the newer more liquid bonds become cheaper, not more expensive, relative to their older counterparts. We offer an explanation based on price pressure and provide empirical support using data on net flows of investors in sovereign bonds.

Ülke Kredi Derecelendirme notları finansal piyasalarda büyük bir öneme sahiptir. Derecelendirme notlarının piyasada fon ihtiyacı olanlar ve yatırımcılar arasında ortak bir dilde bilgi aktarımını sağlama fonksiyonu bulunmaktadır. Ülke Kredi Derecelendirme notları, ülkelerin borçlanma maliyetlerini etkilemektedir. Aynı zamanda yabancı yatırımcıların ve fonların ilgili ülkede yatırım yapma kararlarını etkilemektedir. Ülke Riski Derecelendirme yaklaşımlarında; ödemeler dengesi, iç ekonomik göstergeler, dış varlık verileri, finansal sektörün durumu, gelir ve nüfus verileri, kamu maliyesi verileri değerlendirmelerde kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, iç ekonomik veriler inceleme kapsamına alınarak ülkelerin temerrüt olasılığına olan etkileri araştırılmıştır. Çalışmada lojistik regresyon yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Ülke temerrüt verileri incelenerek kategorik hale getirilmiştir. GSYIH verileri, döviz kuru ve tüketici fiyatları artış oranı verilerinin temerrüt olasılığını açıklama gücünün yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Çalışmada G20 ülkeleri kapsama alınmış ve 2008-2017 yılları arası incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, dolar kurundaki artışların ve bu artışlar nedeniyle USD cinsinden GSYIH’nın azalması ülkelerin temerrüt olasılığı artıran bir etken olmuştur., Sovereign credit ratings have gained importance in financial markets. Sovereign ratings have the function of providing necessary information in a common language between market participants who need funds and investors. Sovereign credit ratings affect countries’ borrowing costs. Additionally, ıt affects the decisions of foreign investors and investment funds, to invest in the related country. In sovereign credit risk approaches, various data is used for assessment such as balance of payment, domestic economy indicators, external economy, financial sector status, income and population data, and public finance data. In the scope of this study, the relation between domestic economy indicators and the probability of default are investigated. The logistic regression method was used in the study. The Sovereign default data is analyzed and categorized. It was observed that GDP data, exchange rate, and consumer price growth rate are high explanatory variables that explain the probability of default. G20 countries were included in the study and examined between the years 2008-2017. As a result of the study, the increase in USD exchange rate and a decrease in the GDP in USD have been a factor that increases the probability of default for countries.

The paper uses the ordered logit regression model on table data to determine the differences in the impact of factors affecting the sovereign credit ratings of ASEAN developing countries compared to other developed countries. The results show that the impact of the macroeconomic indicators on the sovereign credit ratings in ASEAN developing countries decreases in comparison to the impact of factors in developed countries. Besides on that, there is no difference in the impact of the factors demonstrates the efficiency of governance on sovereign credit ratings in developing ASEAN countries compared to developed countries.

This article studies the contagion effects on the emerging financial markets of the Asian region. The contagion effect is manifested in the change of interconnection degree of financial markets after the shock in one of the countries of the region. In the paper, we consider the information on potential or actual change in sovereign credit rating as a shock leading to a contagion effect. Our sample includes evidence from 7 Asian countries covering the period from 2000 to 2018. We use the DCC-GARCH model which allows us to take into account the peculiarities of financial data behavior. We intend to show the effect of inconsistencies in ratings assigned by various agencies on strengthening or weakening the processes of contagion on Asia’s stock markets. We also study the impact of historical inconsistencies between credit rating outlooks and actual rating changes on the level of «trust» to credit outlooks in the future. In assessing the impact of discrepancies we assume that the market remembers recent events better than more distant in time. We were able to confirm the impact of inconsistencies in the ratings given by different rating agencies for China, Hong Kong, and India. In addition, we found that the presence of inconsistencies between the outlooks and actual rating updates in the past tend to weaken the trust regarding positive outlooks rather than negative ones.

This study aims to explore how changes in explanatory variables may affect the probability of sovereign credit ratings assigned by Fitch, which is assumed to be a binary choice variable. For this purpose annual data of selected developed and developing countries for the period 2002-2016 have been used. In the empirical analysis the binary logit model has been applied. The estimation results indicate that all the explanatory variables are statistically significant in explaining credit ratings. Consistent with prior research, credit ratings are positively related to per capita gross domestic product, the level of economic development and export. In addition, credit ratings are negatively related to inflation, debt and default history.

There exist several exchange rate models that associate macroeconomic variables with the exchanges rates. In this article, we focus on uncovered interest parity (UIP) which relates the expected exchange rate changes to the intercountry interest rate differential. We apply various panel econometric methods to test UIP for a wide range of data covering numerous cross currency rates as well as the U.S. Dollar based exchange rates. The results for UIP are mainly unfavorable. We utilize an augmented version of UIP containing time-varying risk premium (proxy: sovereign credit default swap) for a similar analysis to observe whether it makes any improvement. Nevertheless, this version does not get much support too. Although it is common to presume that deviations from UIP are mostly due to a time-varying risk premium, our analysis indicates that this is not true.

Interest in the relationship between credit rating and economic growth is growing as emerging economies increasingly integrate into international financial markets. Without credit ratings, developing economies would not have been able to successfully issue their sovereign bonds to support economic growth. Therefore, this paper examines a causality relationship between Standard & Poor’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings and economic growth in 19 Sub-Saharan countries over the period from 2003 to 2018. The results of the Granger causality tests show a unidirectional causality from sovereign credit ratings to economic growth, not vice versa. This implies that economic growth is not significant in determining sovereign credit ratings. It can thus be concluded from these findings that sovereign credit ratings are proactive actions by rating agencies that are relevant in determining future economic growth. Thus, investors benefit from utilizing credit ratings to prevent inherent information asymmetry in fundamental economic factors. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to pay attention to sovereign credit ratings when formulating macroeconomic policies.

The aim of this paper is to construct an index that reflects investor sentiment regarding sovereign debt markets and to analyze this index to predict the evolution of sovereign risk. This Google Sovereign-Risk Sentiment Index (GSSI) is constructed by aggregating Google search data for a set of keywords related to the sovereign debt crisis that took place in Europe. The results indicate that the GSSI shows a high correlation with other sovereign risk indexes. Moreover, we analyze through panel data regressions its relationship with sovereign Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) for a set of European countries in the period 2008–2017. We determine that the GSSI shows the expected positive relationship with sovereign risk, especially in peripheral countries and during the period of maximum financial distress in sovereign debt markets. Our findings contribute to the investor sentiment literature and provide a novel measure of sovereign risk. These results suggest several implications for public authorities and regulators.

This paper extends the literature on the economic consequences of coups d’etat by examining their impact on the cost of debt for sovereigns and, respectively, the likelihood of experiencing a sovereign default. Using a monthly panel dataset covering 134 countries over the period 1990 to 2014 and after employing the entropy balancing methodology, I find that the occurrence of coups d’etat significantly increases the cost of debt for sovereigns and their likelihood of experiencing sovereign defaults. I demonstrate that this finding is extremely robust to different specifications, potential omitted variables, and the use of falsification tests. Moreover, I show that the impact of coups d’etat on the cost of debt varies systematically depending on the political regime, the types of coups d’etat, and the sovereign credit rating grade. Finally, I provide suggestive evidence that the induced drop in the real economic growth, the changes in the willingness function to honor contracts and irrational exuberance are the root of increased sovereign debt cost and the likelihood of defaults following coups d’etat.

PurposeCredit rating agencies (CRAs) are perceived as highly influential in the financial system since their announcements can affect several players in the financial markets, from big private financial and non-financial companies and their financial markets experts to sovereign states. In this sense, this study investigates whether sovereign credit news issued by CRAs (measured by comprehensive credit rating (CCR) variables) affect the uncertainties about the exchange rate in the future (captured by the disagreement about exchange rate expectations). The study is relevant once there is evidence indicating that CRAs' assessments are responsible for affecting international capital flows and, thus, sovereign rating changes can affect the expectations formation process regarding the exchange rate. In addition, there is evidence indicating that the disagreement about exchange rate expectations affects the disagreement about inflation expectations, which brings consequences to policymakers.Design/methodology/approachThe dependent variables are the disagreement in expectations about the Brazilian exchange rate for different forecast horizons, 12, 24 and 36 months ahead and the first principal component of theses series. On the other hand, the CCR variables are built upon the long-term foreign-currency Brazilian bonds ratings, outlooks and credit watches provided by the main CRAs. Estimates are obtained using ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM); a dynamic analysis is performed using vector-autoregressive (VAR) through impulse-response functions.FindingsNegative (positive) sovereign credit news, given by a rating downgrade (upgrade) and/or a negative (positive) outlook/watch status, increase (decrease) the disagreement about exchange rate expectations. This result holds for all disagreement and CCR variables.Practical implicationsThe study brings practical implications to both private agents (mainly financial market experts) and policymakers. An important practical implication of the study concerns the ability of CRAs to affect the expectations formation process of financial market experts regarding the future behavior of the exchange rate. When a CRA issues a signal of improvement in a country's sovereign rating, this signal reflects the perception of improvement in macroeconomic fundamentals and reduction of uncertainties about the country's ability to honor its financial obligations, which therefore, facilitates the expectations formation process, causing a reduction in the disagreement about the exchange rate expectations. With respect to the consequences for policymakers, they will have more difficulty in guiding expectations in a country with a worse sovereign risk rating, where agents have difficulties in forming expectations and the disagreement in expectations is greater.Originality/valueThe study is the first to analyze the impact of CRAs' announcements on the disagreement about exchange rate expectations. Moreover, it connects the literature that investigates the effects of sovereign credit news on the economy with the literature that examines the main determinants of disagreement in expectations about macroeconomic variables.

The global financial crisis and European sovereign debt crisis underlined the links between the banking sector and sovereign risk. This paper uses a machine learning technique (random forest regres...

This study investigates the effects of a country’s environmental performance on sovereign credit risk. We use sovereign credit default swap (CDS) spreads for a large panel of countries to analyse w...

This article examined the multi-scale correlations between Turkish lira exchange rates and sovereign credit default swap (CDS) in Turkey, Europe, and Asia by implementing a combined quantile regres...

PurposeThis study is a comparative analysis of the magnitude of economic growth as a key determinant of long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings in 30 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America from 2010 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis applies the fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) panel least squares (PLS) models.FindingsThe authors find that the magnitude economic coefficients are marginally small for African countries compared to other developing countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Results of the probit and logit binary estimation models show positive coefficients for economic growth sub-factors for non-African countries (developing and developed) compared to negative coefficients for African countries.Practical implicationsThese findings mean that, an increase in economic growth in Africa does not significantly increase the likelihood that sovereign credit ratings will be upgraded. This implies that there is lack of uniformity in the application of the economic growth determinant despite the claims of a consistent framework by rating agencies. Thus, macroeconomic factors are relatively less important in determining country's risk profile in Africa than in other developing and developed countries.Originality/valueFirst, studies that investigate the accuracy of sovereign credit rating indicators and risk factors in Africa are rare. This study is a key literature at the time when the majority of African countries are exploring the window of sovereign bonds as an alternative funding model to the traditional concessionary borrowings from multilateral institutions. On the other hand, the persistent poor rating is driving the cost of sovereign bonds to unreasonably high levels, invariably threatening their hopes of diversifying funding options. Second, there is criticism that the rating assessments of the credit rating agencies are biased in favour of developed countries and there is a gap in literature on studies that explore the whether the credit rating agencies are biased against African countries. This paper thus explores the rationale behind the African Union Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.631 (XXVIII) adopted by the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2017 (African Union, 2017), directing its specialized governance agency, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), to provide support to its Member States in the field of international credit rating agencies. The Assembly of African Heads of State and Government highlight that African countries are facing the challenges of credit downgrades despite an average positive economic growth. Lastly, the paper makes contribution to the argument that the majority of African countries are unfairly rated by international credit rating agencies, raising a discussion of the possibility of establishing a Pan-African credit rating institution.

How do credit rating agencies (CRAs) judge welfare policies in advanced market economies (AMEs)? Scholars worry that market pressures constrain AMEs’ ability to retain their welfare arrangements, b...

This paper studies the impact of sovereign credit rating and outlook changes on the shape of sovereign yield curve. The data sample consists of five peripheral European countries known as GIIPS (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) over the period of 01 January 2001 to 30 June 2016. We use dynamic Nelson-Siegel model to estimate the level, slope and curvature of yield curve and subsequently, Vector Autoregressive model to estimate the effect of sovereign rating and outlook changes on the sovereign yield curve. We find significant effect of rating downgrades and insignificant effect of rating upgrades in all the five countries; however, find mixed results for the effect of changes in outlook status. We find some peculiarity in the behavior of Portuguese yield curve that is explainable under preferred habitat theory. A battery of sensitivity tests also validates the results.

Kredi notlarının uluslararası piyasalardan sağlanan fonların maliyetleri üzerinde ciddi etkileri vardır. Bu bakımdan, özellikle gelişmekte olan ülkeler açısından kredi notlarının güvenilirliği ve tarafsızlığı çok önemlidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı ülke ve kurumlara ait kredi notlarının ne kadar gerçek durumu yansıttığını, değerlendirme süreçlerinin ne kadar şeffaf olduğunu ve ne derece güvenilir olduğunu ortaya koymaktır. Kredi notlarının etkisinin araştırılması amacıyla; BRICS-T ülkelerinin makroekonomik verileri, CDS primleri ve bankacılık-finans endeksleri alınarak; notların değişim öncesi ve sonrası değerlendirilmiş, tablo ve grafikler yardımıyla analiz edilmiştir. Bu aşamada kredi notlarının bankacılık sektörüne etkisini analiz etmek amacıyla; her ülkeden halka açık bankalar seçilmiş, bu bankaların hisse fiyatları ve mali oranlarındaki değişim incelenerek, banka ve ülke notu birlikte değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmada kredi derecelendirme notları yerine CDS primlerindeki hareketlerin dikkate alınmasının, ülkenin ve bankanın kredi güvenilirliğini daha gerçekçi bir şekilde yansıttığına dair görüşler aktarılmıştır. Yapılan analizlerin sadece Türkiye ile sınırlandırılmaması, analizlere BRICS ülkelerinin de katılması çalışmayı gerek ulusal gerekse uluslararası literatürdeki diğer çalışmalardan farklılaştırmaktadır. Sovereign credit ratings have a significant impact on the costs of funds obtained from _x000D_ international markets. In this respect, the reliability and impartiality of credit ratings are very _x000D_ important, especially for developing countries. The aim of this study is to reveal how real the credit _x000D_ ratings of countries and institutions reflect the existing situation, how transparent and reliable _x000D_ the evaluation processes are. In order to investigate the effect of credit ratings; macroeconomic _x000D_ data, CDS premiums and banking-finance indices of BRICS-T countries were evaluated before and _x000D_ after the rating changes and analyzed with the help of tables and graphs. At this point, in order _x000D_ to analyze the impact of credit ratings to the banking sector; the selected public bank’s and _x000D_ country’s ratings were evaluated by analyzing the change in share prices and financial ratios of _x000D_ these banks. It was evidenced that movements in CDS premiums reflect the credit reliability of _x000D_ countries and the banks more realistically than the credit ratings. By extending the scope of the _x000D_ study with BRICS countries we differentiated if from the previous literature. In this regard, also an _x000D_ international dimension was added to the study.

Sovereign credit rating announcements are usually unexpected events that can affect local financial markets either favorably or detrimentally. In Lebanon, the credit outlook witnessed a deteriorating trend since the mid of the year 2016. The major hypothesis of this paper is that the reaction to the bad credit rating announcements is statistically significant, although ephemeral, delimited to just a few days. It is through the liquidity channel that these announcements create uncertainty and affect the economy. There are two related hypotheses: (1) illiquidity shocks impact undesirably the financial markets, and (2) credit rating announcements are accompanied by a surge in illiquidity. Since the impact of these announcements is ephemeral it should be assessed by high-frequency data, or at most by daily financial data. The domestic foreign exchange market is an ideal place to study this impact. Fortunately, the central bank of Lebanon has lately made available daily foreign exchange rates for six major currencies beginning in 2010. This defines six multiple regressions that are constructed to differentiate between the short-run and the long-run responses to illiquidity. The empirical results show that the above two hypotheses are strongly supported. Moreover, it matters little whether the event window is 3, 4 or 5 days. JEL Classification: G14, F31, C58, C38.

The majority of sovereign nations have a formal credit rating from more than one credit rating agency in order to bridge the potential informational gap that goes with only one formal rating. This ...

This paper proposes a new approach for tackling the issue of the impact of sovereign rating on corporate ratings. As the policy of never rating a private issuer above its government (sovereign ceiling) has been relaxed by the major credit rating agencies, further empirical investigation is needed to identify the key factors that determine the strength of sovereign-corporate nexus. We suggest implementing a nonlinear panel smooth transition regression modelling where the sovereign effect is allowed to vary across different firm-level financial states. Our results reveal that financially healthier corporations in terms of interest and debt coverage ratios are found to be less dependent on their home country credit risk. Our empirical findings have important implications for credit market participants and offer a call for a better understanding of the role of firm-specific financial characteristics in the rating decisions.

How much do politics and politically sensitive policy choices matter for sovereign credit ratings? We contend that while policy is consistently important for rating decisions, attention to politics varies with perceived uncertainty. Quantitatively analysing the text of 635 sovereign rating reports issued by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) between 1999 and 2012 for 40 European countries, we find that S&P scrutinisespolicywith similar intensity across countries, butpoliticalscrutiny was less intense in developed countries and prospective European Union members (categories formerly associated with lower uncertainty) than in emerging countries until the crisis dispelled illusions of lower uncertainty in these categories. Our findings nuance the common notion that financial market actors allow countries perceived to belong to low-risk categories more “room-to-move” in their political and policy choices, by showing that in rating decisions such permissiveness only applied to politics – but not to policy – and it ended with the global financial crisis.

There is evidence that the risk of stranded assets in the oil and gas sector is underpriced in financial markets. Publicly traded Western oil and gas companies are starting to write down assets, opening up the possibility that more rationalisation of value is likely to come. To the extent that large oil companies diversify portfolios to include cleaner energy and carbon sequestration technologies, it could reduce the risk of a sudden cascading change in the stock valuation of these firms and related bond and credit markets. Instead, the vast majority of oil and gas assets that will be stranded are in the control of sovereign states whose national budgets are highly dependent on oil and gas revenues. Thus, the problem of stranded asset risk for the oil and gas sector may be most relevant in markets for sovereign credit as well as risks that go beyond financial losses.

This is an analysis of South Africa’s (SA) sovereign credit rating (SCR) using Naïve Bayes, a Machine learning (ML) technique. Quarterly data from 1999 to 2018 of macroeconomic variables and categorical SCRs were analyzed and classified to predict and compare variables used in assigning SCRs. A sovereign credit rating (SCR) is a measurement of a sovereign government’s ability to meet its financial debt obligations. The differences by Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) on rating grades on similar firms and sovereigns have raised questions on which elements truly determine credit ratings. Sovereign ratings were split into two (2) categories that is less stable and more stable. Through data cross-validation for supervised learning, the study compared variables used in assessing sovereign rating by the major rating agencies namely Fitch, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. Cross-validation splits the dataset into train set and test set. The research applied cross-validation to reduce the effects of overfitting on the Naïve Bayes Classification model. Naïve Bayes Classification is a Machine-learning algorithm that utilizes the Bayes theorem in classification of objects by following a probabilistic approach. All variables in the data were split in the ratio of 80:20 for the train set and test set respectively. Naïve Bayes managed to classify the given variables using the two SCR categories that is more stable and less stable. Variables classified under more stable indicates that ratings are high or favorable and those for less stable show unfavorable or low ratings. The findings show that CRAs use different macroeconomic variables to assess and assign sovereign ratings. Household debt to disposable income, exchange rates and inflation were the most important variables for estimating and classifying ratings.

Finance is often considered a constraining or compelling force in war. This article examines an alternative role of finance in war, asserting that investors can inform states about adversarial intentions and resolve under certain conditions. This signaling mechanism can reduce information asymmetry between states and decrease the probability of conflict. In the context of these theoretical expectations, I examine the case of Austria and the Rothschild Bank in the nineteenth century. I find that instead of being a constraining force on Austrian foreign policy, the Rothschilds helped inform Austria and other European powers during interstate crises. The information provided by the Rothschilds helped Europe avert war in several cases during the nineteenth century.

This article aims to analyze the main risk factors that explain the manifestation and the aggravation of sovereign risk, particularly through the dynamics of sovereign CDS spreads in euro area member countries. The explanatory factors that will be analyzed are related to general risk aversion, which is explained by the volatility of the stock markets, liquidity risk perceived by the flight to quality phenomenon, idiosyncratic risk, which is explained by the deterioration of the state of macroeconomic fundamentals. We will adopt an econometric approach with the quantile regression method applied to panel data developed by Canay (2011), because it allows to estimate the effect of the independent variables on the different regions of the distribution, of the dependent variable and also makes it possible to overcome the problem of the presence of extreme values. Finally, our model has made it possible to identify, over time and different countries, the factors which significantly explain a sovereign risk, and whose deteriorated situation is likely to lead to payment defaults, which is very important to know, especially in the current unfavorable macroeconomic context. These include the volatility of the stock markets, which shows investor mistrust, the drying up of liquidity in the bond markets, which explains the phenomenon of flight to quality, the budgetary factor, which is explained by the unsustainable debt, and the economic factor, perceived by the level of wealth of a country.

This study examines how sovereign CDS spreads of Turkey behave in COVID-19 pandemic times by considering that CDS spreads reflect the riskiness, vulnerability, financial stability, and macroeconomic stability of countries and CDS spreads of most of the emerging countries have increased with the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the study focuses on the year 2020 which includes before COVID-19 and COVID-19 pandemic times periods. In this context, daily data between 12.06.2019 and 06.16.2020, 6 independent variables, and 6 COVID-19 situations are analyzed by employing Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) method. The findings reveal that (i) influential factors on Turkey’s CDS spreads are BIST100 index, VIX index, MSCI Turkey index, and USD/TL foreign exchange rates for the period which is before COVID-19 pandemic times; (ii) MSCI emerging market index, number of new deaths from COVID-19, USD/TL foreign exchange rates, weighted average cost of funds, number of new cases from Covid-19, and VIX index have effect on Turkey’s CDS spreads in COVID-19 pandemic times, respectively; (iii) on the other hand, number of cumulative cases, number of cumulative deaths, and measures do not have effect on Turkey’s CDS spreads in any period. Taking precautions to decrease negative effects on Turkey’s CDS spreads by considering the importance of deaths number from COVID-19 pandemic is very important. Hence, Turkey could stimulate foreign portfolio investment inflows with decreasing CDS spreads.

We provide novel evidence on exchange rate predictability by using the term premia of the sovereign credit default swap (CDS). Using a sample of 29 countries, we find that the sovereign CDS term premia significantly predict the exchange rates out‐of‐sample. On average, a steeper CDS spread curve for a country predicts its currency appreciation against the U.S. dollar (USD). Empirically, although the sovereign CDS level mainly reflects global risk, the information in the term premia of the sovereign CDS spreads reveals country‐specific risk. Notably, the predictive power of the term premia is robust after controlling for the sovereign CDS level and other conventional global macroeconomic and financial factors. Further analysis shows that the information in the sovereign CDS term premia is also helpful for forecasting international stock market returns.