Sovereign credit ratings and central banks: Why do analysts pay attention to institutions?

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.

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A comparative study of economic growth as a key determinant of sovereign credit ratings in Africa

International Journal of Emerging Markets ◽

10.1108/ijoem-10-2019-0830 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Misheck Mutize ◽

McBride Peter Nkhalamba

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Credit Rating ◽

Credit Ratings ◽

Credit Rating Agencies ◽

African Union ◽

African Countries ◽

Content Type ◽

Rating Agencies ◽

Sovereign Credit ◽

Sovereign Credit Ratings

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.

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