China fines S&P Global (China) Ratings US$297,000 for business violations
- PBOC says penalty was for ‘failure to carry out credit rating business in accordance with the legitimate procedures and rules’ and ‘failure to send reports’ to authorities
- The central bank also penalised five other credit ratings firms, all domestic agencies, for various breaches
China’s central bank said on Friday it had fined six credit ratings firms, including the China subsidiary of S&P Global, for violating rules.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) issued a warning to S&P, together with a 2.12 million yuan (US$297,000) fine for alleged violations including “failure to carry out credit rating business in accordance with the legitimate procedures and rules” and “failure to send reports to the credit rating authority or its dispatching agencies”, according to a notice on the PBOC website.
A former S&P China executive, surnamed Eastham and who was in charge of its rating analysis in China, was also fined 30,000 yuan, the notice said.
“S&P Global (China) Ratings has received the notice from the People’s Bank of China,” the agency said in an emailed response. “We take this matter very seriously and have taken necessary actions to address the issues identified.”
The other firms targeted in the disciplinary move were Fareast Credit, China Lianhe Credit Rating, CSCI Pengyuan, Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating & Investors Services and China Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI), all domestic firms. They were slapped with bigger fines, ranging from 3.9 million yuan to 7.69 million yuan, according to the PBOC.
The alleged violations included “breach of independence requests”, “failure to disclose information as requested or publish false information” and “violation of credit rating professional management requirements”.
