A Modern Credit Rating Agency: The Story of Moody's

Moodys is one of the world's leading credit rating agencies, and this book tells the story of its founding member, including the origins of the sector, the competitive battles that formed the modern-day oligopoly, and the characters that have each taken their turn on sculpting the industry. It also takes in economic crises such as the antebellum US, the Panics of the early 1900s, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, and the Global Financial Crisis.

Format: Hardback
Length: 130 pages
Publication date: 22 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Credited as the first credit rating agency, Moodys has been the epitome of the rating sector and its effects. However, outside of internal and non-public histories compiled within the rating agency itself, the story of Moodys has never been told. This book aims to present a comprehensive picture of one of the world's leading credit rating agencies.

Rather than a historical book, this book paints a broader canvas that introduces the concept of rating, considering the origins of the sector, the competitive battles that shaped the modern-day oligopoly, and the individuals who have played pivotal roles in sculpting the industry that is critical to the modern economy.

The book is a story of personable individuals who provided the market with what it needed, but it is more than that. It is a story of conflict, impact, strategy, and, most importantly, the relationship between big business and modern society. As the gatekeeper to the capital markets that form the core of modern society, Moodys represents the best and worst of what the marketplace can produce.

This story encompasses economic crises such as the antebellum US economic crisis, the Panics of the early 1900s, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, and, of course, the Global Financial Crisis. It does so because, at the heart of each crisis, there was a member of the rating industry or the reporting industry that preceded it. The credit rating agencies, in their often-uncomfortable role as gatekeepers, have their fingerprints on most financial scandals and calamities.

This book tells the story of the industry's founding member.

Weight: 420g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367427443