MOODYS CORP DE

MIS, certain of the Company's credit rating affiliates, and many of the issuers and/or securities that MIS and the affiliates rate, are subject to extensive regulation in the U.S. (including by state and local authorities), EU and in other countries. In addition, some of the services offered by MA and its affiliates are subject to regulation in a number of countries. MA also derives a significant amount of its sales from banks and other financial services providers who are subject to regulatory oversight and who are required to conduct due diligence and pass through certain regulatory requirements to key suppliers such as MA by contract. Existing and proposed laws and regulations can impact the Company’s operations, products and the markets in which the Company operates. Additional laws and regulations have been proposed or are being considered. Each of the existing, adopted, proposed and potential laws and regulations can increase the costs and legal risk associated with the Company’s operations, including the issuance of credit ratings, and may negatively impact the Company’s profitability and ability to compete, or result in changes in the demand for the Company's products and services, in the manner in which the Company's products and services are utilized, and in the manner in which the Company operates.

In the U.S., CRAs are subject to extensive regulation primarily pursuant to Section 15E of the Exchange Act and rules thereunder. MIS is registered with the SEC as an NRSRO and is subject to the SEC's oversight and examination authority.

In the EU, the CRA industry is registered and supervised through a pan-EU regulatory framework. ESMA has direct supervisory responsibility for registered CRAs throughout the EU. MIS’s EU CRA subsidiaries are registered with and are subject to CRA regulation in the EU and periodic inspection by ESMA.

As part of the legislative package on sustainable finance, in June 2023, the European Commission published a proposal on the transparency and integrity of ESG rating activities, which would subject ESG rating and/or score providers to formal regulation and supervision by ESMA. Following negotiations between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, it is expected to be adopted in the first half of 2024. Because the regulation has not yet been finalized, its precise scope and impact are uncertain; however, the Company continues to assess the potential impact on both MA and MIS.

In December 2022, the EU adopted DORA, which will apply from early 2025. As a credit rating agency, MIS is in scope of DORA, and accordingly, is required to undertake certain steps to ensure that its oversight and risk management of its information technology, including any functions outsourced to third-parties that provide information communication technologies, is resilient. MA provides certain products and services to clients that may be regulated financial institutions in the EU and therefore fall in the scope of DORA. It is therefore expected that MA may receive queries from such clients in relation to those products and services, as well as requests for contractual commitments, to ensure their compliance with DORA.

In the U.K., MIS U.K. is registered with and regulated by the FCA. In March 2023, the FCA initiated a review of competition in the markets for certain types of wholesale market data. Credit rating data is included as one element of the FCA’s review. In August 2023, the FCA published an update, determining that its findings did not require a referral to the U.K. Competition & Markets Authority. However, the FCA also stated that it would continue its analysis and would announce any potential remedies in its final report due on or before March 1, 2024.

Additionally, HM Treasury published a consultation in March 2023 on whether regulation for providers of ESG ratings should be introduced, on the potential scope of a regulatory regime. It is unclear if and when the U.K. Government might seek to take forward such legislation.