Credit rating agencies (CRAs) play an important role in the efficient operation of the global capital markets. Investors and lenders rely on CRAs to provide a clear measure of the creditworthiness of debt issuers and borrowers, while debt issuers rely on CRAs to issue ratings that accurately reflect the company’s relative creditworthiness. Companies also use credit ratings to evaluate trading partners, financial counterparties, and potential business partners; and in many jurisdictions, regulators also rely on CRAs for determining regulatory capital requirements and permitted investments. Yet for the credit rating process to work properly, a critical nexus of transparency and trust must be exhibited by all of these parties – the issuers, the credit rating agencies, and the regulators who oversee both.