Seeing the Data, Not Just the Model: The Next Step for Credit Rating Openness

At the recent Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, South Africa’s Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said something that needs to be taken seriously. He called for greater openness from credit rating agencies. His test was straightforward: sovereigns should be able to take the methodology, take the data, and see whether they can replicate the rating. If they can do that, he said, they can engage the agencies on their own terms and challenge ratings they believe are wrong.

This is a basic expectation of accountability in any system where judgments carry material consequences. Sovereign credit ratings shape borrowing costs, investor confidence, and fiscal space. The agencies that produce them hold considerable power. The question Kganyago posed cuts to the heart of that power: can sovereigns trace the evidence behind their own ratings?

Not yet. The system remains only partially transparent.