The sector has been criticised for being too slow to warn investors of the risks in securitised products, which have become largely untradable in the credit crunch despite having had high ratings.
"This is one of the tools to respond to the crisis," French centre-right MEP Jean-Paul Gauzes said. Parliament voted in favour of the draft law with 569 for and 47 against, amid four abstentions.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed the vote by saying: "The regulation will help give investors the information, integrity and impartiality they need from credit rating agencies if they are to make prudent investment decisions that create growth and jobs, instead of bubbles of excessive risk."
Ambassadors from EU states, which have joint say on the law with the EU assembly, signed off on Thursday morning on a joint deal agreed informally beforehand with the Parliament last week (EurActiv 17/04/09).
According to the deal, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), a body made up of national regulators, will be placed in temporary charge of registering credit rating agencies. Registration has not so far been required.
The new rules require the CESR to manage a database of historical performance information about rating agencies operating in the EU. This should allow users of rating services - such as investors - to quickly verify the accuracy of economic predictions and compare them with competitors.
From 2010, this task should be passed on to a new pan-European authority which will replace the CESR, along the lines of preliminary plans outlined by the Commission last month (EurActiv 05/03/09).
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
