NICE Investors Service earned the best results in this year’s competency evaluation of domestic credit rating agencies, the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) said.
According to KOFIA on Tuesday, NICE Investors Service ranked first overall among Korea’s three credit rating agencies — Korea Ratings, Korea Investors Service and NICE Investors Service — in the “2026 Credit Rating Agency Competency Evaluation.” The assessment was conducted across two categories: the accuracy of credit ratings, and the stability of credit ratings and the usefulness of predictive indicators.
The evaluation was developed through discussions by a task force of experts from academia, research institutes and the financial investment industry. The competency evaluation consisted of a quantitative assessment (50%) that scored metrics such as default rates and rating retention rates, and a qualitative assessment (50%) based on a survey of market experts.
In the accuracy category, NICE Investors Service received the highest evaluation in both the quantitative and qualitative assessments. No companies with investment-grade ratings defaulted last year, and in the quantitative assessment combining average cumulative default rates and annual default rates, NICE Investors Service’s default rate was calculated to be the lowest. In the expert survey as well, NICE Investors Service scored an average of 3.89 points in the accuracy category, ahead of Korea Ratings (3.80 points) and Korea Investors Service (3.76 points).
In the category covering the stability of credit ratings and the usefulness of predictive indicators, the comprehensive evaluation also ranked NICE Investors Service highest. In the quantitative assessment of stability, NICE Investors Service was the strongest. In the quantitative assessment of predictive indicator usefulness, the match rate between rating outlooks and rating watch by Korea Ratings and Korea Investors Service and the actual direction of rating adjustments stood at 100% over both the past three years and five years. However, in the comprehensive results including the qualitative assessment, NICE Investors Service came out ahead.
Overall confidence in the credit rating agencies’ rating competency, as seen by 102 market participants including credit analysts and credit bond fund managers, was the same as last year (3.82 points). Accuracy rose from 3.81 points to 3.82 points, and the usefulness of predictive indicators rose from 3.81 points to 3.85 points, but stability fell from 3.83 points to 3.78 points.
In a separately conducted evaluation of market communication efforts, NICE Investors Service also received strong scores for the appropriateness of information provided, the diversity of information, market communication efforts and recent improvement efforts. However, in the category of usefulness of rating reports, Korea Ratings received the highest evaluation.
“Amid the current heightened external uncertainty from global interest rate volatility and conflicts in the Middle East,” evaluation committee chairman Kang Kyung-hoon said, “as market volatility expands, protecting investors through the provision of accurate information becomes more important. We urge credit rating agencies to contribute to capital market stability through transparent and timely evaluations.”
Source: en.sedaily.com
