Those credit rating agencies are heading for the spotlight again. In the coming days, European Union lawmakers and diplomats will try to agree another tranche of rules to improve the operation of CRAs. That this is Europe’s third effort, post-crisis, to rein in agencies’ behaviour says a lot. The big three agencies had a badly-flawed track record pre-2008, making tighter regulation for the lightly-monitored sector look essential. More recently, though, this reform drive has taken on a big political dimension as European leaders have fumed over the timing of some sovereign debt decisions.
那些信用评级机构又将再次成为焦点。在未来数日，欧盟的立法者和外交官们将试图就改善评级机构运作的另一组规则达成一致。这是欧洲在危机过后为控制此类机构行为而作出的第三次努力，这本身就很说明问题。三大评级机构在2008年以前都有严重缺陷的记录，为这一监管松懈的部门订立更严格的规定，看来是必要的。然而最近，随着欧洲各国领导人对一些涉及主权债务信用的决定感到愤怒，这一改革初衷又多了一层重要的政治意义。