JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
Standards, Reputational Costs and Market Share: Empirical Evidence from the Credit Rating Industry
Author(s): Puneet Prakash, Nanda K. Rangan
Citation: Puneet Prakash, Nanda K. Rangan, (2020) "Standards, Reputational Costs and Market Share: Empirical Evidence from the Credit Rating Industry," Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 20, ss. 3, pp. 37-63
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
We examine the joint effect of average default risk and uncertainty on behavior of rating agencies. We find when average default risk rises in the economy standards weaken but a simultaneous increase in uncertainty causes the standards to tighten more. The net effect is the documented conservatism in ratings. A trade-off between short term gains in market share and long term costs to reputation provides a consistent explanation for these findings.