Breaking up the oligopoly on credit risk information means returning powers to the banks

Sir John Dizard in “For fast relief of the credit markets democratise them” December 30 requests that “Rating agencies and banks should not retain their oligopoly on inside information”. He is right on the rating agencies but not on the banks. To be precise, the only ones who have had an oligopoly in credit risk information are the credit rating agencies. In fact the democratisation process should start by allowing the banks to fully recover their role as credit analysts and which was so diminished when the bank regulators empowered the credit rating agencies to act as their most trustworthy outsourced risk-surveyors.