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Ratings giant hits back at African bias claims

Questioning South Africa’s Manuel report, S&P says it assesses African economies fairly

S&P Global Ratings has refuted claims that it treats African countries unfairly after it and the two other major credit ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch, were slammed in an Expert Panel Report drawn up by former South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. ‘We don’t treat Africa or Latin America or Asia – we don’t treat anybody different,’ Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, global head of sovereign ratings, said in an interview on 20 November. ‘Our criteria, our methodology, has been public for decades now and anybody can look at it.’

Sifon-Arevalo said that African sovereigns should not be compared to European economies or the United States and should be benchmarked against Latin America and South-East Asia. While Manuel is sceptical about the African Union’s attempt to launch a credit ratings agency, he says that the big three must be more transparent about their methodologies (AC Vol 66 No 4, Targeting the cost of capital).

‘Credit rating agencies must put their numbers on the table so that governments know what they can do to change the situation,’ Manuel told reporters at a briefing on 14 November. His report, commissioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa as part of South Africa’s G20 presidency, reflects African governments’ frustrations over credit restructuring and borrowing costs that have pushed many towards debt distress (Dispatches, 23/6/25, Stiglitz panel calls for debt relief, as wealthy states block African UN plan). The report proposed the creation of a Borrowers’ Club as a Global South counterpart to the Paris Club and also suggested a Debt Forum.

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