Moody’s Germany fined EUR 2,145,000 for misreporting to ESMA
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has fined Moody’s Deutschland GmbH (Moody’s Germany) a total of EUR 2,145,000, for committing four breaches of the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (CRA Regulation), and issued a public notice.
Verena Ross, ESMA’s Chair said:
"Moody’s Germany breached the CRA Regulation by failing to provide complete, accurate and up-to-date data to ESMA. High quality, reliable reporting is critical for detecting risks and maintaining transparency in EU financial markets.
ESMA will continue to ensure that credit rating agencies comply with their responsibilities and maintain robust systems and controls.”
The errors affected only data submitted by Moody’s Germany to ESMA (including when acting on behalf of other CRAs within its group) and published on ESMA’s central platform. They did not affect the credit ratings published on Moody’s Germany’s website. However, complete and accurate reporting under the CRA Regulation is key to enabling ESMA to fulfil its statutory objectives, protect investors and foster the orderly functioning of financial markets.
ESMA also identified deficiencies in Moody’s Germany’s regulatory reporting framework, including its policies, procedures and internal control mechanisms.
The breaches were found to have resulted from negligence on the part of Moody’s Germany. In calculating the fine, ESMA considered both aggravating and mitigating factors provided in the CRA Regulation.