European rating agency could launch in 2012: report

According to reuters The founder of consultancy Roland Berger said he hoped a new private, non-profit organization, in the form of a foundation, could be ready in "the first half or the first nine months of the year.    Berger, who has been lobbying European governments and companies to gather support and financing for a new agency, hopes to have raised the 300 million euros of capital needed from European investors by that time,  Berger said The proposed model is of an agency where the service is paid by the clients, who have an interest in having reliable and objective results.Roland Berger partner Markus Krall, who is largely tasked with setting up the agency, told Germany's Euro am Sonntag weekly that it would differentiate itself from competitors by accepting liability for its analysis.This would mean customers could potentially claim damages from the agency, which Krall said provides a "strong incentive" to provide accurate analysis. (Reuters)