The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on the supervision of credit rating agencies (CRAs).

This will allow for a formal basis for supervisory cooperation between MAS and ESMA. It paves the way for the enhanced sharing of supervisory information between the two authorities for more effective supervision of crossborder CRAs operating in Singapore and within the European Union (EU).

CRAs play an important role in the global financial markets and their rating activities have a significant impact on the operations of the markets and on investor confidence.

ESMA also announced that it considers Singapore's regulatory framework for CRAs to be in line with EU's CRA regulations, thereby facilitating EU registered CRAs to endorse credit ratings issued in Singapore.

ellenja@sph.com.sg