This small post today focuses upon the Universal Credit Rating Group (UCRG), which is an alliance between Dagong Ratings, RusRatings, and Egan Jones Ratings. The alliance aims to counter the effect of the ‘Big Three’ rating agencies – Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch – and ultimately provide a more transparent and, as they claim, fair rating system across the globe. However, as we will see, there is the opportunity for powerful political actors to influence proceedings with the UCRG and that influence, if only perceived, is potentially a fundamental hurdle to the group realising its aims. This piece relies heavily upon a recently published article by this author – which can be found here in its final form, and here in a pre-published and altered form. The UCRG, throughout their campaign, have made consistent references to the importance of developing ‘shared goals’ for the benefit of ‘ mankind ’, which they suggest will be achieved by credit rating agencies around the w...