The world's three major private credit-rating agencies are using their power to prevent low-income countries from restructuring their debts and stimulating their economies. The case for an independent public ratings agency has never been stronger.
NEW DELHI – On March 10, the credit-rating agency Moody’s placed Ethiopia on review for a downgrade. The problem isn’t violence and repression in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region. Rather, Moody’s has concluded that the Ethiopian government’s commitment to engage with private creditors, as part of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, raises the risk that those creditors will incur losses. For that, the country apparently must be punished.
NEW DELHI – On March 10, the credit-rating agency Moody’s placed Ethiopia on review for a downgrade. The problem isn’t violence and repression in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region. Rather, Moody’s has concluded that the Ethiopian government’s commitment to engage with private creditors, as part of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, raises the risk that those creditors will incur losses. For that, the country apparently must be punished.