NEWS
Moody's Will Acquire SCRiesgo, Thus Expanding its Reach within Latin America’s Local Credit Markets
New York, USA. December 13, 2022. Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) announced an agreement to acquire
SCRiesgo, a group of leading rating agencies that operate in the financial markets of Central America and the Dominican Republic. The acquisition will greatly expand Moody's presence within the region, reaffirming its commitment and support for the continued development of local financial markets.
Following the acquisition, SCRiesgo will become an affiliate of Moody's Local, which is Moody's local credit ratings platform. However, SCRiesgo will continue to issue local ratings through both an analytical process and independent rating committees. Gary Barquero, General Manager of SCRiesgo, will continue to lead the company's operations after the acquisition.
"Latin American financial markets are a priority for Moody's as we expand our regional presence and consolidate Moody's Local and its affiliates as leading credit rating agencies in the region," stated Martín Fernández-Romero, Managing Director and Regional Head for Latin America at Moody's Investors Service. He added,"SCRiesgo and its amazing team will help expand Moody's analytical capabilities, thus increasing transparency for local markets and expanding our reach within Central America, the Dominican Republic, and throughout the region."
With offices in Costa Rica and El Salvador, SCRiesgo issues local credit ratings for banks, financial institutions, investment funds, and public and private companies, as well as other market participants in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
Moody's Local is a local credit ratings platform that launched in 2019 and provides ratings and research for Latin American capital markets. The platform combines calibrated methodologies for each country, with experienced local analyst teams that provide the kind of credit information valuable to markets. Moody's Local operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. Moody's objective is to merge SCRiesgo's operations in Panama with Moody's Local Panama, once the deal is closed.
Moody's acquisition of SCRiesgo is subjected to regulatory approval in certain jurisdictions. Moody's expects the transaction to close during the second quarter of 2023.
