The International Organisation of Securities Commissions, the powerful umbrella body of world securities regulators, has outlined a host of changes to the voluntary code of conduct that applies to credit agencies in an effort to address criticism of the ratings process in the wake of the credit crisis.

In a report published today after a period of public consultation, Iosco outlined 19 separate changes to the code across four key areas: the quality and integrity of the rating process; independence and avoidance of conflicts of interest; and responsibilities to investors and issuers; and disclosure of the code and communications with participants.