We rate over 120 financial institutions belonging to around 80 European banking and financial-services groups, including Europe’s largest banks by assets, key bank holding companies, and domestic and international subsidiaries.
Rating overviewWe apply a distinctive approach to assessing credit risk in financial institutions, with methodologies tailored to European complexities. Our transparent, forward-looking methodology combines sector trend analysis with insights into evolving regulation. At its core, the methodology focuses on banks’ business models, while also accounting for resolution and recovery regimes, supporting rating stability and predictability over time. Our ratings follow a standardised, step-by-step process that draws on extensive data and peer comparisons, limiting reliance on mechanistic models and ensuring a nuanced risk assessment.
Through-the-cycle focus: Ratings reflect long-term business-model resilience, driven by geographical/product diversification, market positioning, risk-adjusted returns, and strategic execution.
Recognition of institutional context: Particularly relevant in the euro area, we factor in the supportive environment of regulatory convergence, the ECB’s lender-of-last-resort role, and a weakening bank-sovereign nexus.
Integration of ESG-D: ESG and digitalisation are treated as dedicated credit factors, with transparent disclosure of their impact, within data limitations.
No rating caps: Sovereign risk is treated analytically, not mechanically, enabling bank ratings to exceed sovereign ratings and loosening the bank-sovereign nexus.
We publish in depth outlooks and forward-looking research and commentaries on key banking industry themes and sector developments. Focus areas include asset quality, capital adequacy, solvency, profitability, regulatory and supervisory developments, sector consolidation, capital securities, ESG and digitalisation.
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Scope’s financial institutions team is highly diverse, with analysts of multiple nationalities operating from several locations across Europe with a solid background in fundamental and market-related bank analysis.
