24/03/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 24 March, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) fined S&P Global Ratings Europe Limited (S&P) a total of €1,110,000 for breaches relating to the premature release of credit ratings to the public. ESMA found that S&P published credit ratings before the concerned securities were issued by the rated entities and announced to the market. This was due to internal control failures. “Publishing a credit rating before the issuance of the rated securities may result in harm to the issuer, to investors and more generally to the orderly functioning of the financial markets”, commented Verena Ross, Chair of ESMA, in a statement. S&P may appeal this decision to the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities. (AD)