Japan’s Financial Services Agency And AMF France Exchanged The Letters Regarding Credit Rating Agencies

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) France exchanged the letters (EOL) regarding credit rating agencies on December 3, 2010.

The EOL is for the purpose of “cooperation arrangements” set out in Articles 4 and 5 of the EU Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies.

FSA also notes that the European Commission has adopted the decision that the Japanese legal and supervisory framework for credit rating agencies shall be considered as equivalent to the requirements of the EU Regulation on September 28, 2010. According to Article 5 of the EU Regulation, ratings issued by a credit rating agency which is granted “certification” from an EU competent authority can be used for regulatory purposes in the EU. The “cooperation arrangements” which are operational and the “equivalence” decision made by the European Commission are among the preconditions of such “certification”.