LA RESPONSABILITÀ DELLE AGENZIE DI RATING PER DIFFUSIONE DI GIUDIZI INESATTI SUL MERCATO FINANZIARIO

Since excessive liability can force reputational intermediaries out of the market, it is very important to balance liability restrictions with investor protection. To determine which level of liability the agencies actually face, given the current European regulatory regime, and whether this level could be justified looking at the trade-off between free market dynamics and little regulation of rating services, on one hand, and investor protection, on the other hand, the thesis analyzes two main problems: rating agencies' prospectus liability and the applicability of art. 2055 of the Italian Civil Code. In fact, the extent of liability highly depends on whether the agencies are jointly and severally liable for the misconduct of the issuer, its management, its auditors and other operators of the market.