The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) convened a special meeting on credit ratings. Mandated by the Sevilla Commitment, adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the meeting sought to establish a dialogue to support sustainable development and enhance the resilience and fairness of the international financial system. Many speakers underscored the importance of information in boosting investor confidence.

Building on the Pact for the Future, which underscored the importance of strengthening UN engagement with credit rating agencies (CRAs), the Sevilla Commitment provides for the establishment “a recurring special high-level meeting on credit ratings under the auspices of ECOSOC for dialogue among Member States, credit rating agencies, regulators, standard setters, long-term investors, and public institutions that publish independent debt sustainability analysis.” By the text, “[t]he meeting will include updates on the Secretary General’s efforts to engage with credit rating agencies, discussion on the use of credit assessments, exchanges on good practices for regulation of credit rating agencies, and sharing of perspectives on credit assessment methodologies.”

The inaugural special meeting took place on 30 March 2026.

According to a background paper, credit ratings support international capital markets by providing creditors with “assessments of an entity’s capacity and willingness to meet its debt obligations.” Credit ratings affect investment decisions, capital flows, and countries’ ability to finance development.

Delivering the UN Secretary-General’s remarks, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said countries are often priced out of the financing they need “not based on their long-term growth prospects, but because of short-term assessment of risk, often relying on outdated and incomplete information.” She warned that credit ratings and assessments “systematically overstate risk,” frequently failing to capture the underlying fundamentals, progress, and countries’ long-term potential.

In a keynote address, Special Adviser on Climate Change to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Avinash Persaud, said developing countries often struggle because global systems are stacked against them, calling credit ratings a “symptom of a broken system.”  

In a panel discussion on credit ratings and the cost of capital, Executive Managing Director and Head of Global Ratings Services at S&P Global Ratings, James Wiemken, underscored that “credit ratings are only one of multiple factors” that influence investment decisions and the cost of capital, with supply and demand, investor sentiment, and macroeconomic conditions also playing a key role. He highlighted institutional strength, foreign exchange risks, and market liquidity among additional factors shaping borrowing costs. Wiemken stressed the need to reduce information gaps through better data and analysis. He highlighted the importance of innovations like blended finance, new lending models, and sustained fiscal and economic reforms to mobilize capital and lower financing costs.

Vice Minister for Finance of Costa Rica, Luis Molina-Chacón, also emphasized the role of transparency and information in managing sovereign debt. He outlined the importance of common frameworks and stressed the need for new methodologies to capture natural assets, fiscal performance, and long-term sustainability, noting that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “gives us the cost of things, but the value of nothing.”

Recognizing that investment decisions are mainly driven by short-term factors, a panel discussion on lengthening the time horizon of ratings and assessments underscored the need for more information to inform long-term development investment. Representatives of major CRAs outlined their efforts to keep their ratings open and transparent. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative detailed the IMF’s work on developing borrowing plans that can be sustained without facing debt-servicing difficulties or resorting to debt rescheduling or accumulation of arrears.

A third panel focused on boosting the capacity of developing countries to engage with ratings and assessments.

In closing, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua said “[t]he international financial architecture must deliver for all countries, not merely the most creditworthy.” [Concept Note] [Background Paper] [Meeting Programme] [UN Meetings Coverage: 30 March 2026] [UN News Story]