China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao gives an interview to Xinhuanet in Beijing, June 29, 2015. (Xinhuanet photo)
By Xiang Bo, Li Yuan
BEIJING, June 29, (Xinhuanet) – Credibility is the foundation of credit-rating firms, and therefore credit rating should not be associated with the ideology of privatization, China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said on Monday.
The orientation and roles of credit rating agencies have been reconsidered after the global financial crisis in 2008, he told Xinhuanet in an interview during the Universal Credit Rating Forum held in Beijing Monday.
Some of the credit rating agencies often take pro-cyclical measures to maintain their credibility, especially in times of crisis, he said.
"South Korea’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded by 11 levels by rating agencies in a week during the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Such a situation is very peculiar and unexpected, negating the basis of ratings they gave previously and, as such, pushed the crisis of South Korea to an extremely high degree." He said.
Rating agencies have made some headway in reforming since the G20 London Summit which also promotes the integration of their supervision with the overall financial supervision, he said.
On the other hand, the three major rating agencies, Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, still monopolize global financial credit rating, and there isn't much progress in business development for other rating firms, he added.
"More efforts should be made for Chinese rating agencies," he said. "The basis of credit rating must be objective, impartial and professional, it should not be associated with the ideology of privatization."
Talking about the current Greek debt crisis, Zhu said Greece is at a critical stage, and he hopes relevant parties to properly deal with the obstacles in solving the crisis.
China always supports a strong Europe and welcomes a strong Euro, he said.
