Updated 22/12/2024
No longer in force since 31/12/2015

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ANNEX

ANNEX

Table 1:   Qualitative data for the first reporting and subsequent updates

No

Field identifier

Description

Type

Standard

Technical fields to be included only once in the qualitative data file

1

Version

The version of the XML Schema Definition (XSD) used to generate the file.

Mandatory.

Shall be the exact version number.

2

Creation date and time

The date and time when the file is created.

It shall be reported as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

3

CRA unique identifier

Code used internally by the system to identify the credit rating agency. Must be the Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the credit rating agency sending the file.

Mandatory.

ISO 9362.

Business fields to be included where applicable and as many times as necessary in the qualitative data file

4

CRA name

Name of the credit rating agency. It shall correspond to the name of the credit rating agency as notified to ESMA. In case one member reports for the whole group it shall be the name of the group of credit rating agencies.

Mandatory for initial reporting or in case of changes.

5

Rating scale identifier

Identifies uniquely a specific rating scale of the credit rating agency.

Mandatory for initial reporting or in case of changes.

6

Rating scale validity date

The date from which the rating scale starts being valid.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

ISO 8601 Date Format (YYYY-MM-DD)

7

Time horizon

Identifies the time horizon referred to by the rating scale.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

‘L’ in case the rating scale is applicable to long term ratings,

‘S’ in case the rating scale is applicable to short term ratings.

8

Scope of the rating scale

Description of the type of ratings included in the scale, including the geographical scope where relevant.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

Maximum of 200 characters.

9

Rating category label

Identifies a specific rating category within the rating scale.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

10

Rating category description

Definition of the rating category in the rating scale.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

11

Rating category value

Order of the rating category in the rating scale, considering notches as subcategories.

Mandatory if ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

The ordinal is an integer value with minimum value 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.

12

Notch label

Identifies a specific notch within the rating scale. Notches provide additional detail to the rating category.

Mandatory if a notch is included in the rating scale for which a ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

13

Notch description

Definition of the notch in the rating scale.

Mandatory if a notch is included in the rating scale for which a ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

14

Notch value

Order of the notch in the rating scale. The notch value is the value that is assigned to each rating.

Mandatory if a notch is included in the rating scale for which a ‘rating scale identifier’ is reported.

The notch value is an integer with minimum value 1 and a maximum value of 99. Values provided must be consecutive.

15

List of Lead Analysts Internal Identifiers

List of the identifiers of the lead analysts appointed by the credit rating agency.

The lists shall be updated by including new lead analysts. Records may be deleted from the list only in case of errors.

Mandatory for initial reporting, or in case of updates, in respect of lead analysts that operate in the European Union.

Each record in the list shall include the internal identifier and the full name of the lead analyst.

The internal identifier shall include a maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.


Table 2:   Data to be reported to ESMA

No

Field identifier

Description

Type

Standard

Technical fields to be included only once in the data file

1

CRA unique identifier

Code used internally by the system to identify the credit rating agency. Must be the Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the credit rating agency sending the file.

Mandatory.

ISO 9362.

2

Version

The version of the XML Schema Definition (XSD) used to generate the file.

Mandatory.

Shall be the exact version number.

3

Creation date and time

The date and time when the file is created.

It shall be reported as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

4

Reporting start date and time

The date and time of the beginning of the reporting period.

It shall be reported as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

5

Reporting end date and time

The date and time of the end of the reporting period.

It shall be reported as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

Business fields to be included where applicable and as many times as necessary in the data file

6

Action type

Identifies the type of action carried out by the credit rating agency in respect of a specified rating.

Mandatory.

‘NW’, where the rating is issued for the first time, or

‘UP’, where the rating is upgraded, or

‘DG’, where the rating is downgraded, or

‘WD’ where the rating is withdrawn, or

‘AF’ where the rating is affirmed, or

‘CA’ where either a ‘watch’ or review status is assigned to a rating or changed or removed, or an outlook/trend is assigned to a rating or, changed or removed, or

‘SU’ where the rating status changes from solicited to unsolicited and vice versa, or

‘DF’, where a default is announced for a rated issuer or instrument.

7

Outlook/Trend

Identifies the outlook/trend assigned to a rating by the CRA according to its relevant policy.

Mandatory.

‘POS’ for a positive outlook/trend, or

‘NEG’ for a negative outlook/trend, or

‘EVO’ for an evolving or developing outlook/trend, or

‘STA’ for a stable outlook/trend, or

‘NOT’ for absence or removal of outlook/trend.

8

Watch/Review

Identifies the watch or review status assigned to a rating by the CRA according to its relevant policy.

Mandatory.

‘POW’ for a positive watch/review, or

‘NEW’ for a negative watch/review, or

‘EVW’ for an evolving or developing watch/review, or

‘UNW’ for a watch/review with uncertain direction, or

‘NWT’ for absence or removal of watch/review.

9

Watch/review determinant.

Identifies the reason for the watch/review status of a rating.

Mandatory if the rating is issued or endorsed in the European Union.

Applicable only in case the watch/review status is different from ‘NWT’.

‘1’ where the watch/review status is due to changes in methodologies, models or key rating assumptions, or

‘2’ where the watch/review status is due to economic, financial or credit reasons, or

‘3’ where the watch or review status is due to other reasons (e.g. departure of analysts, occurrence of conflicts of interests).

10

Responsible CRA unique identifier

Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the credit rating agency that has performed the action.

Mandatory.

ISO 9362.

11

Rating identifier

Unique identifier of the rating. It shall be maintained unchanged over time.

Mandatory.

12

Rating value

Identifies the value of the rating after the action.

Mandatory.

13

Previous rating value

Identifies the value of the rating before the action.

Mandatory if the action type reported is different from ‘NW’.

14

Rating scale identifier

Identifies uniquely the scale of the rating.

Mandatory.

15

Internal Lead Analyst Identifier

Identifier assigned by the CRA to the lead analyst responsible for the rating.

Mandatory if the rating is issued in the European Union.

Maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.

16

Country of the Lead Analyst

Identifies the country of the office of the lead analyst competent for the rating.

Mandatory.

ISO 3166.

17

Solicited/Unsolicited

Identifies whether the rating is solicited or unsolicited.

Mandatory.

‘S’ where the rating is solicited, or

‘U’ where the rating is unsolicited.

18

Rating Type

Identifies the type of rating as referred to by the rating scale.

Mandatory.

‘C’ where the rating is a corporate rating, or

‘S’ where the rating is a sovereign or public finance rating, or

‘T’ where the rating is a structured finance rating, or

‘B’ where the rating refers to a covered bond that is not a structured finance instrument.

19

Country

Country code of the rated issuer or instrument.

In the case of credit ratings concerning supranational organisations the country shall be indicated as ‘ZZ’.

In the case of credit ratings concerning structured finance instruments the country shall be the domicile of the majority of the underlying assets.

Where it is not possible to identify the domicile of the majority of the underlying assets, the record reported shall be ‘ZZ’.

Mandatory.

ISO 3166-1.

20

Industry

Industry segment of the issuer.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the rating type reported is ‘C’.

‘FI’ in case it is a financial institution including credit institutions and investment firms,

‘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 undertaking.

21

Sector

Specifies subcategories for sovereign and public finance ratings.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the rating type reported is ‘S’.

‘SV’ for a sovereign rating, or

‘SM’ for a sub-sovereign or municipality rating, or

‘SO’ for a supranational organisation rating, or

‘PE’ for a public entity rating.

22

Asset class

Defines the main asset classes for structured finance ratings.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the rating type reported is ‘T’.

‘ABS’ for an asset-backed security, or

‘RMBS’ for a residential mortgage backed security, or

‘CMBS’ for a commercial mortgage backed security, or

‘CDO’ for a collateralised debt obligation, or

‘ABCP’ for an asset-backed commercial paper, or

‘OTH’ in all other cases.

23

Time horizon

Identifies the time horizon of the rating as referred to by the rating scale.

Mandatory.

‘L’ for a long term rating, or

‘S’ for a short term rating.

24

Seniority

Identifies the seniority of the debt class of the issuer or instrument rated.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the Rating type reported is ‘C’ or ‘S’.

‘SE’ where the issuer rating or the instrument rated is senior, or

‘SB’ where the issuer rating or the instrument rated is subordinated.

25

Currency

Identifies whether the rating is expressed in respect of local or foreign currency.

Mandatory.

Applicable only for issuer ratings.

‘LC’ for a local currency rating, or

‘FC’ for a foreign currency rating.

26

Action validity date and time

The date and time of validity of the action. This shall coincide with the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) of publication of the action or distribution by subscription.

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

27

Action communication date and time

The date and time of communication of the action to the rated entity.

It shall be expressed as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory only if the rating is issued in the European Union.

Applicable only if the action is communicated to the rated entity.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

28

Action decision date

Identifies the date when the action is decided.

It shall be the date of preliminary approval (by the rating committee) of the action where this is then communicated to the rated entity before final approval.

Mandatory only if the rating is issued in the European Union.

ISO 8601 Date Format: (YYY-MM-DD)

29

ISIN value

ISIN of the rated instrument. It shall be maintained unchanged over time.

Mandatory if the rated instrument is assigned an International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN).

Applicable only to ratings concerning instruments.

ISO 6166 code.

30

Internal Instrument Identifier

Unique code assigned by the CRA to identify the rated instrument. It shall be maintained unchanged over time.

Mandatory.

Applicable only to ratings concerning instruments.

Maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.

31

Issuer BIC code

BIC code of the issuer.

Mandatory if the Unique Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the issuer is available to the credit rating agency.

ISO 9362 code.

32

Internal Issuer Identifier

Unique code assigned by the CRA to identify the issuer.

Mandatory.

Maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.

33

Issuer’s Name

It shall contain appropriate understandable reference to the legal name of the issuer (or the parent company of the issuer).

Mandatory.

Maximum of 40 characters.

34

Originator BIC Code

BIC code of the originator.

Mandatory if the Unique Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the originator is available to the credit rating agency.

Applicable only in case the Rating type reported is ‘T’.

ISO 9362 code.

35

Originator Internal Identifier

Unique code assigned by the CRA to the originator.

This should read ‘MULTIPLE’ in case of multiple originators.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the Rating type reported is ‘T’.

Maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.

36

Originator’s Name

It shall contain appropriate understandable reference to the legal name of the originator (or the parent company of the issuer).

This should read ‘MULTIPLE’ in case of multiple originators.

Mandatory.

Applicable only in case the Rating type reported is ‘T’.

Maximum of 40 characters.

37

Withdrawal reason

Reason in case the action reported is a ‘withdrawal’.

Mandatory in case a ‘WD’ action is reported.

‘1’ for incorrect or insufficient information on the issuer/issue, or

‘2’ for insolvency of the rated entity or debt restructuring, or

‘3’ for reorganisation of the rated entity including the merger or acquisition of the rated entity, or

‘4’ for the end of maturity of the debt obligation, or

‘5’ for automatic invalidity of rating due to business model of a credit rating agency (such as expiry of ratings valid for a predetermined period), or

‘6’ for end of rating due to other reasons.


Table 3:   List of fields for the cancellation of data

No

Field identifier

Description

Type

Standard

Technical fields to be always included only once in the cancellation file

1

CRA unique identifier

Code used internally by the system to identify the credit rating agency. Must be the Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the credit rating agency sending the file.

Mandatory.

ISO 9362.

2

Version

The version of the XML Schema Definition (XSD) used to generate the file.

Mandatory.

Shall be the exact version number.

3

Cancellation date and time

The date and time of the cancellation.

It shall be reported as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Mandatory.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

Business fields to be included as many times as necessary in the cancellation file

4

Rating scale identifier

Identifies uniquely a specific rating scale of the credit rating agency.

Mandatory.

Applicable only if the record to be cancelled relates to a rating scale reported as part of the qualitative data set out in Table 1.

5

Action type

Identifies the type of action carried out by the credit rating agency in respect of a specified rating.

Mandatory.

Applicable only if the record to be cancelled relates an action reported as part of the data set out in Table 2.

‘NW’, where the rating is issued for the first time, or

‘UP’, where the rating is upgraded, or

‘DG’, where the rating is downgraded, or

‘WD’ where the rating is withdrawn, or

‘AF’ where the rating is affirmed, or

‘CA’ where either a ‘watch’ or review status is assigned to a rating or changed or removed, or an outlook/trend is assigned to a rating or, changed or removed, or

‘SU’ where the rating status changes from solicited to unsolicited and vice versa, or

‘DF’, where a default is announced for a rated issuer or instrument.

6

Action validity date and time

The date and time of validity of the action.

Mandatory.

Applicable only if the record to be cancelled relates an action reported as part of the data set out in Table 2.

ISO 8601 Extended Date Time Format: YYYY-MM-DD (HH:MM:SS)

7

Rating identifier

Unique identifier of the rating assigned by the credit rating agency.

Mandatory.

Applicable only if the record to be cancelled relates an action reported as part of the data set out in Table 2.

8

Reason for cancellation

The reason why the record is cancelled.

Mandatory.