THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on credit rating agencies [OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 1.], and in particular point (d) of Article 21(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 requires a credit rating agency to use credit rating methodologies that are rigorous, systematic, continuous and subject to validation based on historical experience, including backtesting.

(2) This Regulation is necessary to ensure transparency in the assessment carried out by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) established by Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC [OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84.] and uniform rules regarding the requirements set out in Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009.