The Tort Liability of CRAs in Europe and the Need for a Harmonized Proximity Requirement at the Union Level

The union-wide civil liability regime for credit rating agencies relies on the national private laws of the Member State to a large extent. To prevent credit rating agencies from shopping for the most restrictive national private laws it is important that the Member States find common ground with respect to the interpretation and application and of central liability elements, such as the proximity requirement. This article focuses on identifying proximity requirements in the national tort laws of England, France, Germany and Sweden and commonalities regarding their application and interpretation. Such commonalities can form the basis for a harmonized interpretation and application of the proximity requirement in CRA liability cases.