Do sovereign credit rating announcements influence excess bond and equity returns in Africa?

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1522-1537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misheck Mutize ◽  
Sean Joss Gossel
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Study Techniques ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether new sovereign credit rating (SCR) changes are valuable, and relevant information is provided to bond and equity markets in 30 African countries that received an SCR during the period 1994–2014. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a combination of GARCH models and event study techniques. Findings This study shows that the financial markets do not significantly react to SCR announcements, possibly because these African markets are already perceived to be risky. Research limitations/implications At last, a significant portion of Africa’s sovereign debt is held by foreign investors (Arslanalp and Tsuda, 2014) who commonly preclude asset managers from investing in low SCR grades. Thus, an unfavorable SCR announcement could lead to a withdrawal of these funds, which could significantly alter both fiscal and monetary policies in the economy. Practical implications SCRs is immaterial to investors holding African securities. Social implications Although financial markets are weakly responsive to SCR announcements, they appear to be informationally important in the operation of stocks and bond markets in Africa. Therefore, governments should appreciate the long-term information exchange between investors and borrowers, and the consequential nature of credit ratings in Africa’s nascent financial markets in order to proactively manage the risks of negative ratings. Originality/value Studies on credit rating effects on Africa markets are rare.

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

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
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.

scholarly journals On the Asymmetries of Sovereign Credit Rating Announcements and Financial Market Development in the European Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunling Li ◽  
Khansa Pervaiz ◽  
Muhammad Asif Khan ◽  
Faheem Ur Rehman ◽  
Judit Oláh
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Financial Market ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Market Development ◽  
European Region ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Financial Market Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

In modeling the impact of sovereign credit rating (CR) on financial markets, a considerable amount of the literature to date has been devoted to examining the short-term impact of CR on financial markets via an event-study methodology. The argument has been established that financial markets are sensitive to CR announcements, and market reactions to such announcements (both upgrading and degrading) are not the same. Using the framework of an autoregressive distributed lag setting, the present study attempted to empirically test the linear and non-linear impacts of CR on financial market development (FMD) in the European region. Nonlinear specification is capable to capture asymmetries (upgrades and downgrades) in the estimation process, which have not been considered to date in financial market literature. Overall findings identified long-term asymmetries, while there was little evidence supporting the existence of short-term asymmetries. Thus, the present study has extended the financial market literature on the subject of the asymmetrical impact of a sovereign CR on European FMD and provides useful input for policy formation taking into account these nonlinearities. Policies solely based upon linear models may be misleading and detrimental.

scholarly journals Sovereign Credit Rating Announcements and Baltic Stock Markets

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Klimavičienė
Keyword(s):  
Stock Markets ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Price Impact ◽  
Delayed Reaction ◽  
Asymmetric Reaction ◽  
Credit Rating Agency ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

This study examines whether sovereign credit rating announcements convey price relevant information to investors in Baltic stock markets, and tests the degree of anticipation and price reaction. Event study methodology is employed to test for the price impact of sovereign credit rating announcements by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch. This enables to analyse whether there is an anticipation of the forthcoming announcement in a particular market, a price impact on the announcement day, and a possible delayed reaction. Results indicate that there is an asymmetric reaction: the price impact of negative events is several times larger than that of positive events. Moreover, although some types of rating announcements are anticipated, there is still a significant price impact on the announcement day. The impact differs across the three Baltic stock markets, and depends on the credit rating agency issuing the announcement. The main conclusion is that sovereign credit rating announcements contain pricing relevant news in addition to information already in a public domain.

The geographical and income differences in the determinants of African sovereign credit ratings

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-624
Author(s):  
Ilse Botha ◽  
Marinda Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
Credit Rating ◽  
Credit Ratings ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rating Agencies ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Sovereign Credit Ratings ◽  
Developmental Indicators

PurposeThe importance of obtaining a sovereign credit rating from an agency is still underrated in Africa. Literature on the determinants of sovereign credit ratings in Africa is scarce. The purpose of this research is to determine what the determinants are for sovereign credit ratings in Africa and whether these determinants differ between regions and income groups.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 19 African countries' determinants of sovereign credit ratings are compared between 2007 and 2014 using a panel-ordered probit approach.FindingsThe findings indicated that the determinants of sovereign credit ratings differ between African regions and income groups. The developmental indicators were the most significant determinants across all income groups and regions. The results affirm that the identified determinants in the literature are not as applicable to African sovereigns, and that developmental variables and different income groups and regions are important determinants to consider for sovereign credit ratings in Africa.Originality/valueThe results affirm that the identified determinants in the literature are not as applicable to African sovereigns, and that developmental variables and different income groups and regions are important determinants to consider for sovereign credit ratings in Africa. Rating agencies follow the same rating assignment process for developed and developing countries, which means investors will have to supplement the allocated credit rating with additional information. Africa can attract more investment if African countries obtain formal, accurate sovereign credit ratings, which take the characteristics of the continent into consideration.

Sovereign credit rating and contagion effects on financial markets of Asian region

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (6) ◽  
pp. 48-69
Author(s):  
Natalia Pivnitskaya ◽  
Tamara Teplova
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Contagion Effect ◽  
Rating Agencies ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
Contagion Effects ◽  
Rating Changes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

This article studies the contagion effects on the emerging financial markets of the Asian region. The contagion effect is manifested in the change of interconnection degree of financial markets after the shock in one of the countries of the region. In the paper, we consider the information on potential or actual change in sovereign credit rating as a shock leading to a contagion effect. Our sample includes evidence from 7 Asian countries covering the period from 2000 to 2018. We use the DCC-GARCH model which allows us to take into account the peculiarities of financial data behavior. We intend to show the effect of inconsistencies in ratings assigned by various agencies on strengthening or weakening the processes of contagion on Asia’s stock markets. We also study the impact of historical inconsistencies between credit rating outlooks and actual rating changes on the level of «trust» to credit outlooks in the future. In assessing the impact of discrepancies we assume that the market remembers recent events better than more distant in time. We were able to confirm the impact of inconsistencies in the ratings given by different rating agencies for China, Hong Kong, and India. In addition, we found that the presence of inconsistencies between the outlooks and actual rating updates in the past tend to weaken the trust regarding positive outlooks rather than negative ones.

scholarly journals Sovereign Credit Ratings and Asian Financial Markets

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-181
Author(s):  
Khansa Pervaiz ◽  
Zuzana Virglerová ◽  
Muhammad Asif Khan ◽  
Usman Akbar ◽  
József Popp
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Financial Market ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Credit Ratings ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Sovereign Credit Ratings ◽  
Financial Market Development ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

Each region/country seeks to become more efficient to gain the confidence of potential investors. Most of the Asian economies are categorized as emerging markets, where the role of financial markets has even become more intensified to provide financial services to increasing economic and financial activities. Asian financial market has momentously suffered during the Asian, and global financial crisis. The mass destruction was mainly caused due to the mounting uncertainty, which spillover throughout the region, where investors lost their confidence. Considering the pivotal economic role of financial markets, and implications evolve due to sovereign credit rating announcements, this study aims to model the role of sovereign credit rating announcements by Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s on financial market development of the Asian region. For 24 Asian countries/regions, we perform a regression analysis on sovereign credit rating changes based on financial market development index and its factors. The findings of Driscoll Kraay’s robust estimator reveals that improvement in sovereign credit rating score enhances the financial market development in the region. Moreover, we applied several robustness checks, such as alternative estimators, alternative measures, and three sub-dimensions of financial market development. According to the findings from these robustness checks, the positive impact of sovereign credit ratings on financial market development in the region is robust. Unlike prior literature (which is confined to the event study approach), this study utilizes the historical grades to establish the relationship under the standard error clustering approach. Due to the diversity of investors’ speculations, we propose a micro-level extension of the present model to overcome a difference in country policy.

scholarly journals Stock Market Reactions To Sovereign Credit Rating Changes: Evidence From Four European Countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Fatnassi ◽  
Zied Ftiti ◽  
Habib Hasnaoui
Keyword(s):  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Rating Agencies ◽  
Sovereign Credit ◽  
Rating Changes ◽  
Stock Market Reactions ◽  
Sovereign Credit Rating

We analyze the reactions of the returns of four European stock markets to sovereign credit rating changes by Fitch, Moodys, and Standard and Poors (S&P) during the period from June 2008 to June 2012 using panel regression equations. We find that (i) upgrades and downgrades affect both own country returns and other countries returns, (ii) market reactions to foreign downgrades are stronger during the sovereign debt crisis period, and (iii) negative news from rating agencies are more informative than positive news.

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