A lead lag analysis of banking sector watchlist, outlook and credit rating announcements between Moody’s and S&P.

Credit ratings are used to reduce the information gap between investors and borrowers (Duff and Einig, 2009) and have been a significant area of interest to investors, regulators, and other market participants over the last two decades. Numerous studies have shown that assigned ratings and rating changes have a significant impact on the pricing of risk and the rate of return for fixed income instruments (Livingston et al, 2008). There are seven major international credit rating agencies (CRAs) within the industry, the main two accounting for 80% of the market are Moody’s Investors Service, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch accounting for around 15% of the market.