The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has tightened the rules governing the disclosure of credit ratings to protect investors.

ASIC has announced it will withdraw current class order relief that allows companies to cite credit ratings without gaining the consent of credit ratings agencies.

The ruling is effective from January 1 and follows a period of public consultation by the regulator.

ASIC says the ruling will make “agencies accountable for ratings cited in disclosure and strengthen credit ratings agencies’ control over the use of their credit ratings”.

From January, issuers will need to ensure they have agency consent before including ratings information in any fund-raising or takeover documents.

ASIC previously granted an exemption for the use of ratings from Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s Investor Service and Fitch Ratings in a prospectus or product disclosure statement without consent.

The measures reflect tighter scrutiny of credit ratings agencies in the wake of the global financial downturn, which resulted in the failure of many A-rated securities.

In a preliminary statement, S&P said it remains “committed to working with ASIC and other regulators worldwide to bring greater transparency to, and restore confidence in, credit ratings”.