Associação entre Ratings de Crédito e Informações Sociais em Empresas Brasileiras de Capital Aberto.

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the extent to which the transparency of social responsibility actions is associated with better credit ratings for publicly traded Brazilian companies. The study analyzed information from annual and sustainability reports and compiled credit ratings, as measured by S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s. Through quantile regressions, the results show that social information is relevant to determining credit ratings, particularly lower-rated companies, that is, those considered riskier. As practical implications, the study points out that companies with lower levels of credit rating are more impacted in the rating of agencies in relation to social information, obtaining an improvement in the rating of 3.58% (t_-1) and 3.67% (t₀) for companies in quantile 0.25, while companies classified in quantile 0.50 obtain a rating improvement of 1.70% (t_-1) and 1.80% (t₀). The study then assesses the use and relevance of social information in the market agents’ assessment models, showing evidence that agencies deemed riskier the companies that presented less social disclosure.