The economic and financial crisis has kept the world on edge since 2008. What began in the United States with the real estate market crisis has now affected the entire globe. Billions in losses for financial institutions, a sudden and pronounced liquidity crisis in the interbank markets, intense criticism of rating agencies and new accounting standards, as well as the threat of a credit crunch that also impacts the real economy, raise questions about the deeper causes of the recent international financial crisis. Among the other stakeholders and co-contributors to the financial market crisis are the rating agencies. Through their evaluations of financial instruments, corporate bonds, and government bonds, rating agencies make these securities attractive to investors, exerting significant power in the financial and credit markets. This makes it all the more concerning that...