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30.5.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
140/17
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No 448/2012
of 21 March 2012
supplementing Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with
regard to regulatory technical standards for the presentation of the information that credit rating
agencies shall make available in a central repository established by the European Securities and
Markets Authority
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
(4)
To further facilitate the understanding of the statistics
produced, the reporting of data on credit ratings
should include any data relating to at least the last
10 years before the entry into force of Regulation (EC)
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
No 1060/2009. A credit rating agency should not be
Union,
required to report these data if it can demonstrate that
this would not be proportionate in view of their scale
and complexity.
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September
2009 on credit rating agencies
( 1 ) and in particular
(5)
This Regulation is based on the draft regulatory technical
Article 21(4)(c) thereof,
standards submitted by ESMA to the Commission for
endorsement by the Commission pursuant to the
procedure laid down in Article 10 of Regulation (EU)
No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the
Whereas:
Council ( 2 ).
(1) Article
11(2)
of
Regulation
(EC)
No
1060/2009
requires (6) ESMA
has
conducted
an
open
public
consultation
on
the
credit rating agencies to make certain information on
draft regulatory technical standards on which this Regu
historical performance data available in the central
lation is based and requested the opinion of the
repository established by the European Securities and
Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group established in
Markets Authority (hereinafter ‘ESMA’). This information
accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No
is required to be provided in a standard form as provided
1095/2010. However, ESMA did not conduct a cost-
for by ESMA and made available by ESMA to the public
benefit analysis since it considered this disproportionate
which shall also publish summary information on the
to the impact of the draft regulatory technical standards
main developments observed. These requirements need
given that the Committee of European Securities Regu
to be supplemented as regards the presentation of the
lators (CESR) had been establishing the central repository
information provided, including structure, format,
since 2010 and the draft technical standards reflected the
method and period of reporting.
operation of the existing system rather than applying
material new requirements and was therefore not
expected to impose significant additional costs on
ESMA or credit rating agencies,
(2) Credit
rating
agencies
belonging
to
a
group
of
credit
rating agencies located in the Union may report
separately to the central repository. However, due to
the credit rating agencies’ highly integrated functional
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
organisation at Union level and in order to facilitate
the understanding of statistics, credit rating agencies
should be encouraged to report to the central repository
CHAPTER I
on a global basis for the whole group.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
(3) The
central
repository
system
collects
data
on
credit
Subject matter
ratings and stores them centrally. In order to help
market participants to better assess the reliability of
This Regulation specifies the rules for the presentation of the
credit ratings and thereby assist them in taking
information, including structure, format, method and period of
investment decisions, the central repository should also
reporting, that credit rating agencies are required to make
accept on a voluntary basis credit ratings issued by third
available in a central repository in accordance with:
country credit rating agencies belonging to the same
group of credit rating agencies but not endorsed in the
Union.
(a) Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009;
( 1 ) OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 1.
( 2 ) OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84.

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L 140/18
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
30.5.2012
(b) point 1 of Part II of Section E of Annex I to Regulation (EC)
it issued a credit rating. A credit rating agency is not required to
No 1060/2009.
report in respect of rating periods that predate its registration or
certification under Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 if it can
demonstrate that reporting such data is not proportionate in
CHAPTER II
view of its scale and complexity.
REPORTING STRUCTURE
5. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
the
following
types
of
Article 2
ratings:
Reporting principles
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
submit
the
following
types
of
(a) corporate ratings;
report to the central repository established by ESMA:
(b) structured finance ratings;
(a) qualitative data reports as set out in Article 7 and Article 9;
and
(c) sovereign and public finance ratings.
(b) rating data reports as set out in Article 8 and Article 10.
Article 4
Corporate ratings
2. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
be
responsible
for
the 1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
data
concerning
accuracy, completeness and availability of its reported data. It
corporate ratings on an issuer basis.
shall ensure that the reports are provided in due time using the
reporting channels in Article 11 and according to the reporting
procedure in Article 13.
2. A
credit
rating
agency
may
treat
ratings
of
a
subsidiary
of
an undertaking either as an individual rating or not. That credit
rating agency shall explain the policy chosen.
3. Where a credit rating agency belongs to a group of credit
rating agencies the members of the group may mandate one of
their members to report the required information on behalf of
3. When reporting corporate ratings a credit rating agency
the group. When the mandated group member reports
shall classify the ratings within one of the industry segments
information on behalf of the group it shall identify both itself
specified in field 18 of Table 1 of Annex II.
and the group members on whose behalf it is reporting the
information.
4. Corporate ratings data for short-term ratings and long-
term ratings shall both be reported where available. For the
long-term ratings the issuer rating shall be reported. Where
Article 3
an issuer rating is not available, the long-term unsecured debt
Ratings to be reported
rating shall be reported. Where foreign and local currency
ratings are available, only the foreign currency rating shall be
1. A credit rating agency shall report data on a credit rating
reported.
for each reporting period until this credit rating is withdrawn.
Article 5
2. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
both
solicited
and
Structured finance ratings
unsolicited ratings. It shall indicate whether a rating is
solicited or unsolicited.
1. Subject to the specific characteristics set out in paragraph
2 and 3, a credit rating agency shall report long-term ratings on
an issue basis for structured finance instruments.
3. A
credit
rating
agency
reporting
on
behalf
of
a
group
of
credit rating agencies may include data of third country credit
2. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
long-term
ratings
on
an
rating agencies belonging to the same affiliated group which are
issuer basis for structured investment vehicles and similar struc
not used in the Union by means of endorsement. Where a
tures.
credit rating agency does not report such data it shall give an
explanation in its qualitative data report.
3. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
short-term
ratings
on
an issue basis for asset-backed commercial papers.
4. A credit rating agency shall report data on credit ratings
covering at least the last 10 years before the entry into force of
Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009. A credit rating agency that did
4. When
reporting
structured
finance
ratings,
a
credit
rating
not issue credit ratings prior to 7 December 1999 shall report
agency shall classify the ratings within one of the following
data for the reporting periods following the first date on which
asset classes:

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EN
30.5.2012 Official
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(a) Asset-backed securities. This asset class includes the sub-
(a) local currency sovereign ratings;
asset classes auto/boat/airplane loans, student loans,
consumer loans, health care loans, manufactured housing
loans, film loans, utility loans, equipment leases, credit
card receivables, tax liens, non-performing loans, credit-
(b) foreign currency sovereign ratings;
linked notes, recreational vehicle loans, and trade receiv
ables;
(c) sub-sovereign and municipalities ratings such as states and
(b) Residential mortgage-backed securities. This asset class
local governments;
includes the sub-asset classes prime residential mortgage-
backed securities and non-prime residential mortgage-
backed securities and home equity loans;
(d) supranational organisations’ ratings such as those of insti
tutions established, owned and controlled by more than one
(c) Commercial mortgage-backed securities. This asset class
sovereign government shareholder including organisations
includes the sub-asset classes retail or office property
covered by code U (Activities of extraterritorial organi
loans, hospital loans, care residences, storage facilities,
sations and bodies) according to the statistical classification
hotel loans, nursing facilities, industrial loans, and multi
of economic activities in the European Communities (here
family properties;
inafter ‘NACE’) ( 1 );
(d) Collateralised debt obligations. This asset class includes the
(e) public entities ratings including those covered by NACE
sub-asset classes collateralised loan obligations, collateralised
codes O (Public administration and defence; compulsory
bond obligations, collateralised synthetic obligations, single-
social security), P (Education) and Q (Human health and
tranche collateralised debt obligations, collateralised fund
social work activities).
obligations, collateralised debt obligations of asset-backed
securities, and collateralised debt obligations of collateralised
debt obligations;
2. Within each sector the short-term and the long-term
issuer ratings shall be reported. Where an issuer rating is not
(e) Asset-backed commercial papers;
available, the long-term debt rating shall be reported.
(f) Other structured finance instruments that are not included
3. For the purpose of field 17 of Table 1 of Annex II, where
in the preceding asset classes, including structured covered
no specific country can be identified as the country of issuance
bonds, structured investment vehicles, insurance-linked
in the case of supranational organisations as specified in point
securities and derivative product companies.
(d) of paragraph (1), the rated issuer shall be classified as ‘Inter
national.’
5. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
specify
which
asset
class
and
sub-asset class (where applicable) each rated instrument belongs
to.
CHAPTER III
FORMAT OF REPORTING
Article 7
6. For the purpose of field 17 of Table 1 of Annex II, the
country code used for an instrument shall be that of the
Qualitative data
country of domicile of the majority of the underlying assets.
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
provide
qualitative
data
Where it is not possible to identify the domicile of the majority
reports in the format specified in Table 1 of Annex I. In
of the underlying assets, the rated instrument shall be classified
particular, a credit rating agency shall provide qualitative data
as ‘International.’
on its rating scale explaining the individual characteristics and
the meaning of each rating. A credit rating agency may report
up to six rating scales. No more than one rating scale may be
Article 6
reported in respect of any particular combination of time
horizon and rating type.
Sovereign and public finance ratings
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
data
concerning ( 1 ) Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of
sovereign and public finance ratings on an issuer basis. The
the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical clas
sification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending
credit rating agency shall classify the ratings within one of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regu
the following sectors:
lations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

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2. Where a credit rating agency issues ratings for a particular
the updated data. A credit rating agency shall only send a new
time horizon and rating type using more than one rating scale,
qualitative data report if there is a change in any of the data,
it shall report in its qualitative data reports only the rating scale
and only the data that have changed shall be reported. In the
used for the numerical majority of such ratings. Ratings shall
event of a methodology change, a credit rating agency shall
not be reported in rating data reports where they use a rating
report the updated qualitative data and may refer to additional
scale that has not been reported pursuant to this paragraph.
information on historical methodology changes provided on its
website.
3. A
rating
scale
contains
an
undetermined
number
of
broad
rating categories that may include as subcategories an
undetermined number of notches. A credit rating agency shall
3. Where
a
change
of
a
rating
scale
occurs
limited
to
the
report both rating categories and notches where applicable.
labels of categories or notches a credit rating agency shall send
the qualitative data report containing an updated record of the
previous rating scale (identified by its unique rating identifier)
modifying the labels or descriptions as appropriate. The other
Article 8
fields relating to the rating scale shall be included in the report
Rating data
with no changes. A credit rating agency shall use the fields
specified in Table 1 of Annex I.
1. A credit rating agency shall provide rating data reports for
ratings referred to in Article 3 in the format specified in Table 1
of Annex II.
4. Where a material change to a rating scale occurs, a credit
rating agency shall declare a new rating scale and perform the
2. For the purpose of field 12 of Table 1 of Annex II, a
following steps:
credit rating agency shall report a default in respect of a
rating where one of the following events has occurred:
(a) a qualitative file with an updated record of the previous
(a) the rating indicates that a default has occurred according to
rating scale modifying the end validity date to the date of
the credit rating agency’s definition of default;
the end of the previous reporting period shall be sent. The
credit rating agency shall use the fields specified in Table 1
of Annex I;
(b) the rating has been withdrawn due to insolvency of the
rated entity or due to debt restructuring;
(b) the credit rating agency shall report the new rating scale
with a new unique identifier and a start validity date of the
(c) any other instance in which the credit rating agency
first reporting period for which it is valid;
considers a rated entity or rated instrument as defaulted,
materially impaired or equivalent.
(c) once the credit rating agency has received the feedback file
3. All
reported
ratings
that
are
withdrawn
during
a
specific
from the central repository confirming that the new rating
reporting period shall be accorded a reason for withdrawal
scale has been accepted, it shall send the rating data files
under field 11 of Table 1 of Annex II. Ratings that were
corresponding to the first reporting period to which the
withdrawn before 7 September 2010 may be entered in the
new rating scale applies using the new rating scale.
category ‘end of rating due to other reasons’.
5. Where a rating scale is cancelled, a credit rating agency
Article 9
shall perform the following steps:
Changes to and cancellations of qualitative data
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
report
changes
to
and
cancel
lations of qualitative data reported where this is necessary to:
(a) the cancellation shall take place before the credit rating
agency reports any rating data to the central repository
relating to that rating scale. In case rating data have
(a) reflect changes in qualitative data;
already been reported, the credit rating agency has to
cancel all rating data using the previous rating scale;
(b) correct factual errors in the reporting of a rating scale.
(b) the credit rating agency shall send the qualitative data file
containing the cancellation of the rating scale. The credit
2. For
changes
in
qualitative
data,
except
data
on
the
rating
rating agency shall use the field specified in Table 2 of
scale, a credit rating agency shall send a new report containing
Annex I.

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Union L
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Article 10
2. The
reporting
period
shall
cover
a
six-month
period
lasting from 1 January to 30 June or from 1 July to 31
Cancellation of rating data and historical reporting of
December. The pre-publication period is a period of three
rating data
months following the end of the respective reporting period,
1. Where
factual
errors
are
identified
in
the
rating
data
that lasting from 1 January to 31 March or from 1 July to 30
has been reported, a credit rating agency shall report the cancel
September. The beginning and the end of a pre-publication
lation of that rating data and shall replace the cancelled rating
period and a reporting period shall be determined by central
data.
European time.
2. When cancelling rating data a credit rating agency shall
take one of the following measures:
3. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
first
transmit
qualitative
data.
It shall send rating data files only when it has received a
feedback file from the central repository verifying the qualitative
(a) in case of a rating record of the current reporting period, a
data.
credit rating agency shall use the fields specified of Table 2
of Annex II. Once the original record has been cancelled, it
shall send a new version of the record;
4. During
each
pre-publication
period,
a
credit
rating
agency
(b) in case of a rating record of previous reporting periods, a
shall submit to the central repository rating data files including
credit rating agency may cancel the original rating data for
all the information as specified of Tables 1, 2 and 3 of Annex
all reported periods using the field specified of Table 2 of
II. Cancellations of rating data shall be reported according to
Annex II including the reason for the cancellation and then
Article 10.
replace the original version of the record in all periods using
the procedure described in Article 3(4).
5. The
first
time
a
credit
rating
agency
reports
to
the
central
3. When
reporting
rating
data
retroactively,
a
credit
rating repository, it shall forward a qualitative data file including all
agency shall add to the rating fields the historical reporting
qualitative data as specified of Tables 1, 2 and 3 of Annex I.
period of the rating and the reason for the reporting of
Subsequently, that credit rating agency shall report only new
historical rating data, as specified in fields 24 and 25 of
rating scales, updates to and cancellations of qualitative data
Table 1 of Annex II.
according to Article 9.
CHAPTER IV
METHOD OF REPORTING
6. In
addition
to
its
first
report
to
the
central
repository
a
credit rating agency shall also report the historical data
Article 11
according to Article 3(4). That reporting shall be performed
in a chronological order of the reporting periods, starting
Reporting channels and data transfer
with the earliest one.
1. In order to report data to the central repository, a credit
rating agency shall use the reporting facilities of the central
repository system.
Article 13
2. All
the
files
sent
to
and
received
from
the
central
Reporting procedure
repository shall be in XML format compliant with the XSD
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
ensure
that
the
information
schemes issued by ESMA.
sent to the central repository corresponds to its internal records.
Within each pre-publication period all relevant files shall be sent
3. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
name
the
files
according
to in chronological order and errors shall be corrected within the
the naming convention issued by ESMA.
pre-publication period.
4. A credit rating agency shall store the files sent to and
received from the central repository in electronic form for at
2. The
central
repository
shall
send
a
feedback
file
to
the
least five years. They shall be made available to ESMA on
credit rating agency for each data file reported either confirming
request.
that the file has been received and loaded correctly or informing
the credit rating agency about detected errors. Where the central
repository has detected an error, the credit rating agency shall
Article 12
send corrections in due time as follows:
File exchange principles and reporting periods
1. A
credit
rating
agency
shall
send
all
files
covering
a
specific reporting period within the subsequent pre-publication
(a) for file errors, the credit rating agency shall correct the error
period to the central repository. This requirement covers both
as indicated in the feedback file and resend the whole file
qualitative data files and rating data files.
again;

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Official Journal of the European Union
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(b) for content errors, the credit rating agency shall correct the error as indicated in the feedback file and
shall resend only the corrected records.
CHAPTER V
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 14
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 March 2012.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO

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EN
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European
Union L
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ANNEX I
List of fields for a qualitative data file
Table 1: List of business fields for the first declaration and the update of a qualitative data file
No Field
identifier Description Type Standard
1 CRA
name Name
used
to
identify
the
credit
Mandatory for initial —
rating agency in the web interface reporting or in case of
of the CEREP. It shall correspond changes.
to the name used by the credit
rating agency in the registration
process and all other supervisory
procedures within ESMA. In case
one member of a group of credit
rating agencies reports for the
whole group it shall be the name
referring to the group of credit
rating agencies.
2 CRA
description Brief
description
of
the
credit
Mandatory for initial —
rating agency.
reporting or in case of
changes.
3 CRA
methodology Description
of
the
credit
rating Mandatory for initial —
agency’s rating methodology. The reporting or in case of
credit rating agency has the possi changes.
bility to describe unique features of
its rating methodology.
4 Solicited
and
Description of the credit rating Mandatory for initial —
unsolicited ratings agency’s policy on solicited and reporting or in case of
policies
unsolicited ratings. If more than changes.
one policy exists, the relevant
rating types applicable to each
policy shall be specified.
5 Subsidiary
ratings Description of policy regarding the Mandatory for initial —
policy
reporting of the rating of subsidi reporting or in case of
aries.
changes. Only applicable
for credit rating agencies
issuing corporate ratings.
6 Geographical
Description whether there is a Mandatory for initial A selection of global/non-
reporting scope
global coverage. If the coverage is reporting or in case of global XML tag selection
not global, the credit rating agency changes.
should be used to identify
shall explain why not.
whether there is global
coverage or not. In case
non-global coverage is
selected, a subfield is
mandatory to explain the
reason.
7 Definition
of
Describes the definition of default Mandatory for initial —
default
by the credit rating agency.
reporting or in case of
changes.
8 Rating
scale
Identifies uniquely a specific rating Mandatory if a rating —
identifier
scale of the credit rating agency.
scale needs to be
reported or updated.

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No Field
identifier Description Type Standard
9 Rating
scale
The date at which the rating scale Mandatory if ‘rating scale ISO 8601date format
validity start date
starts being valid (BOP). It shall identifier’ is reported.
(YYYY-MM-DD).
correspond to a valid date of the
beginning of a reporting period
existing in the system. The date
shall not overlap with already
reported rating scale for the same
scope.
10 Rating
scale
The last date a rating scale is valid Mandatory if ‘rating scale ISO 8601date format
validity end date
(EOP). It shall correspond to a identifier’ is reported.
(YYYY-MM-DD).
valid date of the end of a
reporting period existing in the
system. If no specific end validity
date is known or it is in the future,
it shall be declared as 9999-01-01.
The date shall not overlap with
already reported rating scale for
the same scope.
11 Time
horizon Identifies
the
applicability
of
the
Mandatory if ‘rating scale — ‘L’ in case the rating
rating scale based on the time identifier’ is reported.
scale is applicable to
horizon. The combination of
long term ratings,
rating type and time horizon
— ‘S’ in case the rating
shall be valid.
scale is applicable to
short term ratings.
12 Rating
type Identifies
the
applicability
of
the
Mandatory if ‘rating scale — ‘C’ in case the rating
rating scale based on the rating identifier’ is reported.
scale is applicable to
type. The combination of rating
corporate ratings,
type and time horizon shall be
— ‘S’ in case the rating
valid.
scale is applicable to
sovereign and public
finance ratings,
— ‘T’ in case the rating
scale is applicable to
structured finance
ratings.
13 Rating
category
Identifies a specific rating category Mandatory if ‘rating scale —
label
within the rating scale.
identifier’ is reported.
14 Rating
category
Definition of the rating category in Mandatory if ‘rating scale —
description
the rating scale.
identifier’ is reported.
15 Rating
category
Order of the rating category in the Mandatory if ‘rating scale The ordinal is an integer
value
rating scale, considering notches as identifier’ is reported.
value with minimum value
subcategories.
1 and a maximum value of
20. The declaration of the
rating categories values
must be consecutive. There
must be as a minimum
one rating category for
each rating.
16 Notch
label Identifies
a
specific
notch
within
Mandatory if a notch in —
the rating scale. Notches provide rating scale is declared.
additional detail to the rating
category.

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No Field
identifier Description Type Standard
17 Notch
description Definition
of
the
notch
in
the
Mandatory if a notch in —
rating scale.
rating scale is declared.
18 Notch
value Order
of
the
notch
in
the
rating
Mandatory if a notch in The notch value is an
scale. The notch value is the rating scale is declared.
integer with minimum
value that is assigned to each
value 1 and a maximum
rating, to identify the rating at
value of 99. Values
the beginning and at the end of
provided must be
each period.
consecutive. There is an
undetermined number of
notches belonging to each
specific rating category.
Table 2: Field for the cancellation of rating scales
No Field
identifier Description Type Standard
1 Rating
scale
The identifier of the rating scale to Mandatory
—
identifier
be cancelled.
Table 3: List of technical fields for a qualitative data file
No Field
identifier Description Type Standard
1 Language
Defines the language of the file. Mandatory. ISO
639-1.
2 CRA
unique
Code used internally by the system Mandatory. ISO
9362.
identifier
to identify the credit rating agency.
Must be the business identifier
code (BIC) of the credit rating
agency sending the file.
3 Version The
version
of
the
XML
schema
Mandatory. Shall
be
the
exact
version
definition (XSD) used to generate
number.
the file.
4 Creation
date The
date
at
which
the
file
was
Mandatory. ISO
8601
date
format
created.
(YYYY-MM-DD).
5 Creation
time The
time
at
which
the
file
was
Mandatory. ISO
8601
Time
Format
created. It shall be reported in
(HH:MM:SS).
the local time of the credit rating
agency generating the file and
expressed as coordinated universal
time (UTC) +/– hours.
6 Creation
time
Indicates that a local time offset Mandatory.
—
offset
for the creation of the file was
used HH ahead or behind UTC.
Separated subfield with values
(+/–) HH, which shall be adjusted
for summer time.

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ANNEX II
List of fields for a rating data file
Table 1: List of business fields for a rating data file
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
1 Rating
Unique identifier of the rating, which Mandatory.
—
identifier
shall be maintained unchanged over
time.
2 Rating
Name or description of the rating. It Optional.
—
name
shall identify the rating, the
instrument or issuer being rated.
3 Internal Unique code to identify the financial Mandatory.
—
instrument instrument that is rated. It shall be
identifier
maintained unchanged over time.
Applicable only for
structured finance
(not structured
investment vehicle
(SIV)) ratings.
4 Standard International securities identifying Optional.
ISO 6166 code.
instrument number (ISIN) of the rated instrument.
identifier
It shall be maintained unchanged over Applicable only for
time.
structured finance
(not SIV) ratings.
5 Internal Unique identifier of the issuer (or the Mandatory.
—
issuer
parent company of the issuer). It shall
identifier
be maintained unchanged over time. Applicable only for
corporate, sovereign
and public finance,
and SIV ratings.
6 Standard Unique business identifier code (BIC) Optional.
ISO 9362 code.
issuer
of the issuer. It shall be maintained
identifier
unchanged over time.
Applicable only for
corporate, sovereign,
public finance and
SIV ratings.
7 Rating
Notch value at the beginning of the Mandatory.
—
BOP
reporting period. It shall be identical
to the rating EOP of the previous Applicable only for
period, except in case of changes in ratings which existed
the rating scale.
at the beginning of
the reporting period.
8 Rating
Notch value at the end of the Mandatory.
—
EOP
reporting period.
Applicable only for
ratings which existed
at the end of the
reporting period.
9 New
Flags that the rating has been Mandatory.
—
rating
generated for the first time during
the reporting period.
10 With
Flags that the rating was withdrawn Mandatory if the
—
drawal
during the reporting period. Once rating was
withdrawn, this specific rating shall withdrawn during
not be reported any more in the the reporting period.
subsequent reporting periods.

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EN
30.5.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
140/27
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
11 With
Reason for where there is an entry in Mandatory if field
— ‘1’ in case of incorrect or insuf
drawal
the ‘withdrawal’ field.
‘Withdrawal’ is
ficient information on the issuer/
reason
reported.
issue,
— ‘2’ in case of bankruptcy of the
rated entity or debt restructuring,
— ‘3’ in case of reorganisation of the
rated entity including the merger
or acquisition of the rated entity,
— ‘4’ in case of the end of maturity
of the debt obligation,
— ‘5’ in case of automatic invalidity
of rating due to business model of
a credit rating agency,
— ‘6’ in case of end of rating due to
other reasons.
12 Default Identifies
whether
the
rated
issuer
or
Mandatory.
—
instrument defaulted during the
reporting period, as specified in
Article 9(2)
13 Solicited/ A credit rating is considered as unsol Mandatory. —
‘S’
in
case
the
rating
is
solicited,
unsolicited icited, if the credit rating is not
initiated on the request of the issuer
or the rated entity. A credit rating is
— ‘U’ in case the rating is unsolicited,
considered as solicited, if it was
initiated by the issuer, the rated
entity or its agent.
— ‘N’ in case this information is not
available for the reporting periods
before 7 September 2010.
14 Location Defines by whom the rating is issued. Mandatory. —
‘I’
where
the
rating
is
issued
in
the
of the
EU by a credit rating agency
issuance of
registered in accordance with
the rating
Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009,
— ‘E’ where a rating that has been
endorsed in accordance with
Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC)
No 1060/2009,
— ‘T’ where the rating is issued by a
certified credit rating agency in
accordance with Article 5(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009
as amended,
— ‘N’ where this information is not
available for the reporting periods
before 7 September 2010,
— ‘O’ in any other case.
15 Time
Identifies whether the rating is a Mandatory. —
‘S’
if
it
is
a
short-term
rating,
horizon
short-term or a long-term rating. It
shall be maintained unchanged over
time.

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L 140/28
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
30.5.2012
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
— ‘L’ for a long-term rating.
16 Rating
Identifies whether the rating is a Mandatory. —
‘C’
for
a
corporate
rating,
type
corporate rating or a sovereign and
public finance rating or a structured
— ‘S’ for a sovereign and public
finance rating. It shall be maintained
finance rating,
unchanged over time.
— ‘T’ for a structured finance rating.
17 Country Country
code
of
the
rated
issuer/in Mandatory. ISO
3166-1.
The
code
‘ZZ’
shall
be
strument.
used to identify the category ‘inter
national’.
18 Industry Industry
segment
of
the
issuer. Mandatory. — ‘FI’ in case it is a financial insti
tution including credit institutions
Applicable for
and investment firms,
corporate ratings.
— ‘IN’ in case it is an insurance
undertaking,
— ‘CO’ in case it is a corporate issuer
that is not considered a financial
institution or an insurance under
taking.
19 Sector Specifies
subcategories
for
sovereign
Mandatory.
— ‘FC’ for a sovereign foreign
and public finance ratings.
currency rating,
Applicable for
sovereign and public — ‘SL’ for a sovereign local currency
finance ratings.
rating,
— ‘SM’ fora sub-sovereign or munici
pality rating,
— ‘SO’ for a supranational organi
sation rating,
— ‘PE’ for a public entity rating.
20 Asset class Defines the main asset classes for Mandatory.
— ‘ABS’ for an asset-backed security,
structured finance ratings.
Applicable for
— ‘RMBS’ for a residential mortgage
structured finance
backed security,
ratings.
— ‘CMBS’ for a commercial
mortgage backed security,
— ‘CDO’ for a collateralised debt
obligation,
— ‘ABCP’ for an asset-backed
commercial paper,
— ‘OTH’ in all other cases.

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EN
30.5.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
140/29
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
21 Sub-asset Defines
the
sub-asset
classes
for
ABS, Mandatory.
For ABS:
RMBS and CDO ratings.
Applicable for
— ‘CCS’ for a credit card receivable
defined asset classes
backed security,
of structured finance
ratings.
— ‘ALB’ for an auto loan-backed
security,
— ‘OTH’ for another type of ABS.
For RMBS:
— ‘HEL’ for a home equity loan,
— ‘PRR’ for a prime RMBS,
— ‘NPR’ for a non-prime RMBS.
For CDO:
— ‘CFH’ for a cash flow or hybrid
CDO/CLO,
— ‘SDO’ for a synthetic CDO/CLO,
— ‘MVO’ for a market value CDO.
22 Vintage
Specifies the year of issuance of the Mandatory.
—
year
rated instrument. It shall be main
tained unchanged over time.
Applicable for
structured finance
ratings.
23 Responsi
Business identifier code (BIC) of the Mandatory. ISO
9362.
ble CRA entity responsible for the rating, i.e.
unique
in case for:
identifier
— a rating issued in the EU, the
credit rating agency registered in
accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 1060/2009 that has issued
the rating,
— an endorsed rating, the credit
rating agency registered in
accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 1060/2009 that endorsed the
rating,
— a rating issued by a credit rating
agency that has been certified in
accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 1060/2009, the certified
entity,
— a rating issued in a third country
but not endorsed by a credit rating
agency registered in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No
1060/2009, the third country
credit rating agency that issued
the rating.
24 Historical Identifies the reporting period of the Optional. ISO
8601
date
format
reporting
rating, if in the past. It shall be used if
(YYYY-MM-DD).
period of the rating is reported for a published
the rating period for the correction of factual
errors.

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L 140/30
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
30.5.2012
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
25 Reason for The reason why the rating is reported Mandatory if the
—
historical
for a previously reported period.
field ‘Historic
rating
reporting period of
reporting
the rating’ is
reported.
Table 2: List of fields for the cancellation of rating data
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
1 Rating Declaration of an existing rating Mandatory.
—
identifier
identifier to be cancelled.
2 Reason The reason why the rating is cancelled Optional.
—
for
for all the previously reported periods.
historic
Mandatory in case of
cancel
complete cancel
lation
lation (cancellation
of the rating for all
the periods).
Table 3: List of technical fields for a rating data file
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
1 Language Defines the language of the file. Mandatory ISO
639-1
2 CRA
Code used internally by the system to Mandatory ISO
9362
unique
identify the credit rating agency. Must
identifier
be the business identifier code (BIC) of
the credit rating agency sending the
file.
3 Version The
version
of
the
XML
schema
defi Mandatory Shall
be
the
exact
version
number
nition (XSD) used to generate the file.
4 Creation The date at which the file was created. Mandatory ISO
8601
date
format
date
(YYYY-MM-DD)
5 Creation The time at which the file was created. Mandatory ISO
8601
time
format
(HH:MM:SS)
time
It shall be reported in the local time
of the credit rating agency generating
the file and expressed as coordinated
universal time (UTC) +/– hours.
6 Creation Indicates that a local time offset for Mandatory
—
time
the creation of the file was used HH
offset
ahead or behind UTC. Separated
subfield with values (+/–) HH, which
shall be adjusted for summer time.

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EN
30.5.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
140/31
No
Field
identifier
Description Type Standard
7 Reporting Identifies the reporting period of the Mandatory ISO
8601
date
format
period
file. It corresponds to the date of the
(YYYY-MM-DD) of the BOP
beginning of the period.
8 Number Total amount of ratings records in the Mandatory
—
of records file, including ratings declarations and
cancellations.

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Document Outline

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