RIGHT-CENTER BIAS
These media sources are slight to moderately conservative in bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by appealing to emotion or stereotypes) to favor conservative causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information but may require further investigation. See all Right-Center sources.
- Overall, we rate Scope Ratings right-center biased based on financial support provided to right-leaning political parties. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting versus High due to a lack of transparency with funding.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL
Country: Germany
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
Established in 2002, Scope Ratings is a German credit rating agency that provides credit ratings and fund analyses for corporate and financial institutions. According to an AFP interview, Scope Ratings aim to challenge the oligopoly of big US rating agencies such as Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global. Scope Ratings is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Torsten Hinrichs is the CEO. The Scope Group is the parent company, and Florian Schoeller is the group’s founder, the largest shareholder, and Chief Executive Officer.
Funded by / Ownership
Florian Schoeller (a member of the Schoeller family) is listed as a major shareholder; however, there is no information regarding the other shareholders and percentages. Ownership is disclosed; however, it is on another website (scopeanalysis.com) and hard to locate. The site states 48 private investors, which includes names such as Simon Fraser (former non-executive director and board member of Barclays Bank), Dr. Manfred Gentz (former CFO of Daimler-Benz) as well as the top investors such as Scope’s founder, Florian Schoeller, is listed as an ‘anchor investor,’ and AQTON SE (holding company of Stefan Quandt). For the rest of the investors, see here.
Funding is not disclosed, but according to our research, German insurance companies, HDI, and Signal Induna are some financial backers of Scope Ratings.
Read our profile on Germany’s media and government.
Analysis / Bias
In review, since the credit ratings are opinions, these opinions come in the form of letter grades, such as those used by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and some other rating agencies: AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, etc., they are biased. The bias can be related to ownership bias, such as owners or top executives having connections to the government. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports, “Many credit rating agencies are paid by the obligors they rate or by the issuers of the securities they rate,” and this creates a “conflict of interest,” and some credit rating agencies are paid by subscribers to their rating services, which are usually investors. Investors’ desire for low or high credit ratings, depending on their holdings and trading positions, may also present a conflict of interest.”
For example, Stefan Quandt, the heir of BMW and served on the supervisory board of Dresdner Bank AG, is one of the shareholders of Scope Ratings through his investment holding company, AQTON. Stefan Quandt donated 690,000 euros to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, and DW reports BMW is a traditional source of Christian Democrats (CDU) income. Politico Europe also reports on BMW’s donations to Merkel’s Christian Democrats, “BMW’s major shareholder and billionaire Stefan Quandt gave €50,000 each to both the CDU and liberal FDP,”. In June 2020, The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) fined Scope Ratings €640,000 and issued public notice.
Finally, they also publish research reports with minimally loaded language such as this, Is a euro area bad bank a good idea? This report is unsourced and consists of the opinions of a credit analyst and financial market commentator. In general, Scope Ratings leans right due to political affiliations with the right-leaning government.
Failed Fact Checks
- None in the Last 5 years
Overall, we rate Scope Ratings right-center biased based on financial support provided to right-leaning political parties. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting versus High due to a lack of transparency with funding. (M. Huitsing 07/24/2020) Updated (07/05/2022)
Source: https://www.scoperatings.com/
Last Updated on June 30, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
Do you appreciate our work? Please consider one of the following ways to sustain us.
or
Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources