In the minds of many pro-European left-wingers, a new ogre is taking the place of old
pones: the credit rating agencies. James Carville famously said that he wanted come back as the bond markets in a next life; coming back as a credit rating agency might be the next best thing. The
agencies are blamed by many on the Continent for being too tough on a range of assets and too American to understand Europe. And EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosso has talked about a
“bias” against European assets.
Worldwide, there are about 150 credit rating agencies. But many of them are only regional, while three U.S. companies dominate the market: Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch. To counter this imbalance, the idea of an EU-backed credit rating agency occasionally surfaces. Only a month ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel floated the concept to a group of German legislators.
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