Big Three lie? Questions raised about credit rating of Africa as experts doubt methodology

Big Three lie? Questions raised about credit rating of Africa as experts doubt methodology

At the UN Development Programme, the agency instrumental in the push to get credit ratings for sub-Saharan nations, senior economist Raymond Gilpin disagreed, saying it was “unconscionable” that the Big Three didn’t have a larger presence on the continent. At the same time, he said he saw no bias in the way the Big Three apply their methodologies, and he echoed other officials and academics when he told said that the rating agencies’ work can be hampered by local realities.

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As African leaders fret about biased credit rating, here’s how continent’s craving for modernity fuelled debt bomb

As African leaders fret about biased credit rating, here’s how continent’s craving for modernity fuelled debt bomb

Essential to the plan were the “Big Three” US-based credit rating agencies – S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which together account for more than 90 per cent of global ratings. The rating agencies collected fees for their services and began applying their complex analyses to the region.

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