Scope Ratings Gains Little Ground Despite ECB Integration and ESMA's Overhaul
Market expansion achieves minimal increases in market dominance
Hey there! You know what's been happening? Apparently, a few days after the operational integration of Scope Ratings by the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has shared an revised market overview. Long story short, the new status of Scope Ratings hasn't managed to stir up much competition within the oligopoly of rating agencies largely based in the US, with the likes of S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch still holding the fort.
Now, let me spill the tea on a couple of enriching points related to this story. ESMA, you should know, does not operate in the market as a competitor but acts as a regulator, aiming to improve data quality and methodology, such as boosting the matching accuracy for suspended instruments from a measly 15% to a much more impressive 90% over a three-month span.
As for Scope Ratings, they've been making some moves. They managed to secure a mandate from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2025, upgrading their existing 'AAA' rating to a solicited status. On top of that, they also affirmed ratings for entities like Banca Popolare di Sondrio (BBB with a Positive Outlook) and a consumer goods company (B+), citing improved profitability and pending mergers. However, there's no hard data in the results on Scope's market share relative to US agencies.
That being said, Scope Ratings' recent EIB mandate hints that they're seeing growing institutional recognition, which could put them on the path to compete more fiercely against the bigger U.S. agencies down the line. Unfortunately, the search results lack concrete numbers comparing rating agency market shares in Europe post-2024.
Long story short, ESMA isn't a player in the market, while Scope Ratings seems to be making headway, but we're still lacking clear market share specifics from the available data. As always, keep checking back for more updates on this developing story! Cheers.
- The operational integration of Scope Ratings by the European Central Bank (ECB) hasn't significantly impacted the oligopoly of rating agencies, which predominantly operates in the US with companies like S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch still leading.
- Despite ESMA's overhaul, it remains a regulator, aiming to improve data quality and methodology, such as boosting the matching accuracy for suspended instruments from 15% to 90%.
- Scope Ratings secured a mandate from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2025, upgrading their existing 'AAA' rating to a solicited status, and affirmed ratings for entities like Banca Popolare di Sondrio and a consumer goods company, citing improved profitability and pending mergers.
- There's a lack of clear market share specifics from the available data regarding Scope Ratings and US agencies post-2024, despite the hint of growing institutional recognition for Scope Ratings that could lead to more competitive dynamics in the future.
