The International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) has argued in a new working paper that credit rating agencies (“CRA”) do not just lag the market, but actually influence the market. Thus, their activities are more consequential than if they simply reflected already available information. Accordingly, the IMF argues that as a result they are a legitimate policy concern. One notable finding is that most of the informational value of CRA activity is transmitted through negative credit warnings, rather than actual rating changes. The authors support the argument that reliance on CRAs in regulations should be removed, as is currently occurring in a number of jurisdictions.