Credit ratings for regulatory use in the UK need to be issued or endorsed by a registered or certified credit ratings agency (CRA). Find out about endorsement and certification.
Endorsement
The endorsement regime is available to third-country CRA groups that have a legal presence in the UK. When a UK CRA endorses credit ratings from a third country affiliate, those ratings can be used in the UK for regulatory purposes.
We have published a list of third-country jurisdictions where the legal and supervisory framework meet the conditions for endorsement to take place. The decision to endorse some or all the credit ratings is one that lies exclusively with UK CRAs. Therefore, those CRAs must ensure they comply with all the requirements in Article 4(3) of CRAR, as amended by the CRAR SI.
This list will be updated as necessary:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- The European Union
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Mexico
- Singapore
- South Africa
- United States of America
Certification and equivalence
The certification regime is available to CRAs established in third countries provided their credit rating activities are not of systemic importance to the financial stability or integrity of the UK financial markets. For certification to take place, the UK Government needs to have determined the legal and supervisory framework in the CRA’s home jurisdiction to be equivalent to the UK’s CRA legal and supervisory framework.CRAs that want to apply for FCA certification to issue credit ratings in the UK, will need to meet the conditions of the CRA Regulation. This list will be reviewed and updated should HM Treasury take future equivalence decisions.
- European Union
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Mexico
- United States of America