Źródła potęgi „Wielkiej Trójki” agencji ratingowych na międzynarodowym rynku finansowym
Sources of power of the Big Three credit rating agencies in international financial markets

Summary/Abstract: Objectives The aim of this study is to describe and analyze the sources of the strong position of the Big Three rating agencies (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings) in international financial markets and confront dominant academic views with postcrisis reality. Material and methods System analysis allowed to extract, describe and explain the main sources of power of credit rating agencies. An analysis of US and EU legal acts as well as the theory of transaction costs and information asymmetry was also applied. Results Two processes contributed to the creation of an oligopoly in the credit rating market: the effectiveness of rating agencies in the first decades of their existence, which allowed to gain investors’ trust and legal provisions sanctioning the dominance of the three largest entities. Conclusions However, the global fi nancial crisis has damaged the agency’s reputation and led to major financial market reforms. Despite this, the Big Three maintained its strong position, which can be explained by the profitability of the rules in force for all major market participants.

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