AGS Hosts a Debate on Credit Rating Agencies

AGS hosted a presentation and debate on the subject "Can credit rating agencies invoke freedom of speech?" on the occasion of the first "Wine and Cheese Evening" of the semester, September 21. The discussion was led by Professor Regis Bismuth who teaches International Law at La Sorbonne and Université de Poitiers in France.

The discussion stressed the disctinction between information and opinion, raising the question of which applies to credit rating agency reports. Other questions raised included: "Can a statement issued as 'expert opinion' be perceived as information?," "Why is there a substantial discrepancy between unsollicited ratings and sollicited ratings?," "Is there a correlation between the source of income of credit rating agencies and the credibility of the information they deliver?," and questions relating to the legitimacy of their influence on global markets.

Professor Bismuth's doctoral dissertation on International Cooperation Between Financial Regulatory Authorities and International Public Law was published last year by Belgian publisher Bruylant.

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