February 23, 2024 (MLN): Fitch Ratings has been recognized as the 2024 Investment Grade (IG), Public Finance and Sovereign Rating Agency of the Year in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region by The Asset.
The agency also collected the award for best rating agency for asset-backed securities for the Americas.
Sustainable Fitch, a separate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings and research firm of Fitch Group, won the ESG rating agency of the year award.
The Asset’s “Triple A” Awards are adjudicated by its board of editors incorporating assessments of rating agencies from surveys with fixed-income investors.
Criteria for the awards include transparency of methodology and number of ratings, timeliness of rating actions, default and stability rates, surveillance process and investor outreach.
The Public Finance Award has been won by Fitch for the ninth consecutive year.
The Asset noted Fitch’s continuing “leadership in covering China’s local government financing vehicles (LGFVs)” – “garnering the largest share for China’s LGFV sector” and having “rated 100% of China’s first-time public finance issuances in 2023.”
Sustainable Fitch secured its fifth ESG award in a row with The Asset saying that it “once again demonstrated its dedication to address and broaden the discussion on ESG themes.”
Fitch achieved its seventh straight win as Sovereigns rating agency of the year because of significant rating actions on markets such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The agency also received its fourth award as best investment-grade rating agency for having broad coverage of IG issuers in sectors including corporates, financial institutions and public finance.
