But this task won’t be easy as some hurdles are hard to overcome. The European Commission has taken steps to supervise credit rating agencies in Europe. As I mentioned, it appears logical to license and supervise such agencies at the European level. However, given that credit rating agencies are globally active, a global approach may be even more effective.
The proposals of the European Commission constitute a first and necessary step towards global supervision of credit rating agencies in the years to come. With regard to hedge funds, it is beyond dispute that they may under certain circumstances have a destabilizing influence, although they did not trigger the present crisis.