ABSTRACT
Sovereign governments are the largest borrowers in the vast majority of the world’s debt capital markets; they are issued sovereign credit ratings to help investors assess their general creditworthiness, e.g. to demonstrate their capacity to face their debt obligations. Indeed, sovereigns seek ratings so that they and their private sector borrowers can access global capital markets and appeal foreign investment (IMF, 2010) and there are over 100 agencies all over the world whose ratings play a central role in their funding decisions. These credit ratings also provide a benchmark for other important non-sovereign issuers of debt.
