DBRS Morningstar Requests Comments on Revised Criteria for Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings

DBRS Morningstar is requesting comments on the proposed updates to “DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings,” which may, upon the close of the Request for Comment period, supersede the version published on February 3, 2021. This criteria presents the standards that explain the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk factors that may affect DBRS Morningstar’s assigned and/or monitored credit ratings across all global sectors and asset classes. DBRS Morningstar deems the proposed update not to be material and has determined that no outstanding ratings are expected to change as a result of this update.

The criteria details how DBRS Morningstar evaluates and incorporates 17 ESG credit risk factors in the assessment of its credit ratings across Governments, Financial Institutions, Corporate Finance, and Structured Finance. DBRS Morningstar considers how ESG risks affect the issuer and transaction-specific ratings during the life of the transaction/rating. The revised criteria advocates for the use of climate-related financial disclosures by issuers in order for analysts to assess issuers’ climate risks in a consistent, comparable, and transparent manner. The revised criteria also expands upon the degree of impact that ESG risks can have, classifying them as either Relevant or Significant.

Comments should be received on or before April 19, 2022. Please submit your comments to the following email address:

[email protected]

DBRS Morningstar publishes on its website all comments received, except in cases where confidentiality is requested by the respondent.

Notes:
DBRS Morningstar methodologies are publicly available on its website www.dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information on this methodology or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].