Scope Group
Scope Group is the leading European credit rating agency, providing independent credit ratings, ESG analysis and fund research to governments, banks, corporates, insurers and supranationals, distributed via proprietary platforms (ScopeOne, ScopeExplorer), Bloomberg Terminal and major European banking integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Scope Group does
Scope Group is the leading European provider of independent credit ratings, ESG analysis and fund research, headquartered in Berlin and operating across continental and UK markets through offices in Frankfurt, Paris, London, Madrid, Milan, Oslo and Poznan. Its core product, Scope Ratings, delivers opinion-driven, forward-looking and non-mechanistic credit risk analysis using proprietary European methodologies that incorporate local political, economic, legal, social and cultural factors. Scope covers all major segments of the European debt capital markets — sovereigns, government-related entities, financial institutions, corporates, covered bonds, ABS and structured finance — and has rated more than 750 issuers and 13,500+ bonds representing over EUR 43 trillion of debt.
The group operates three analytical franchises (credit ratings, ESG analysis, and fund research) and distributes them through two proprietary digital platforms — ScopeOne for institutional investors and issuers of financial instruments, and ScopeExplorer for institutional and retail investors focused on funds — supplemented by Bloomberg Terminal, Data License and B-PIPE integrations and embedded rollouts into the Deka Easy Access platform and the DZ BANK group covering ~700 cooperative banks. Scope is the only European credit rating agency accepted by the European Central Bank in the Eurosystem Credit Assessment Framework (ECAF), and is also recognized by Norges Bank, making its ratings eligible as collateral for euro-area and Norwegian monetary policy operations.
Scope generates revenue through issuer-paid rating mandates (governments, banks, corporates, supranationals, insurers and development banks) and subscription-based access to ratings and research for institutional investors via ScopeOne, ScopeExplorer and Bloomberg. The company's anchor shareholders are founders Florian Schoeller and Stefan Quandt through AQTON, alongside institutional investors AXA, Groupe BPCE, Crédit Agricole Assurances, HDI/Talanx, Signal Iduna, SV SparkassenVersicherung, Swiss Mobiliar, Foyer, B&C Gruppe, RAG-Stiftung and ABN AMRO, with 20% of Scope Management SE held by the Scope Foundation to safeguard independence.
Scope Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Scope Group
- Legal name
- Scope SE & Co. KGaA
- Website
- https://scopegroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Scope Group is the leading European credit rating agency, providing independent credit ratings, ESG analysis and fund research to governments, banks, corporates, insurers and supranationals, distributed via proprietary platforms (ScopeOne, ScopeExplorer), Bloomberg Terminal and major European banking integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Scope Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Credit Rating Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- ESG Data, Ratings & Climate Benchmarks (FSAFAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- ESG Data, Ratings & Research (Providers, Methodologies, Analytics) (FSAAALAJ)
Keywords
Where Scope Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
Scope Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Credit Rating Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to ratings and research for institutional investors. Ratings published for major banks and selected issuers, with full rating reports available via subscription.
- Rating Mandates: Issuers (governments, banks, corporates, supranationals) mandate Scope for credit ratings, generating revenue from the rated entities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Public ratings available via Bloomberg Terminal and direct platforms |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Scope Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Scope Group provides independent credit ratings, ESG analysis and fund research covering all segments of European debt capital markets. Its rating business (Scope Ratings) issues opinion-driven, forward-looking and non-mechanistic credit risk assessments for sovereigns, financial institutions, non-financial corporates, covered bonds, ABS and structured finance, while Scope ESG Analysis provides ESG impact analysis based on a macroeconomic quantitative model and Scope Fund Analysis provides research and ratings on investment funds and asset managers. These analytical products are distributed through the proprietary ScopeOne platform for institutional investors and issuers, the ScopeExplorer platform for fund-focused investors, and via Bloomberg Terminal and Bloomberg Data License for global distribution.
Product overview
Scope Group is a multi-product European financial intelligence company operating across three core segments: credit ratings (Scope Ratings), ESG analysis (Scope ESG Analysis), and fund research and ratings (Scope Fund Analysis). These three analytical products are distributed to professional and private investors through two digital platforms — ScopeOne for institutional investors and issuers of financial instruments, and ScopeExplorer for investors focused on funds. Together, the company covers all major segments of European debt capital markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ScopeOne: Digital platform for institutional investors and issuers of financial instruments
- ScopeExplorer
Products and services
- Scope Ratings Scope Ratings is the leading European credit rating agency providing independent, opinion-driven, forward-looking and non-mechanistic credit risk analysis across all segments of debt capital markets, including sovereigns, corporates, financial institutions, covered bonds, ABS and structured finance. It is the only European rating agency accepted by the ECB in the Eurosystem Credit Assessment Framework (ECAF) and recognized by Norges Bank.
- Scope ESG Analysis Scope ESG Analysis provides ESG impact analysis based on a macroeconomic quantitative model, offering environmental, social and governance assessments alongside or integrated with credit ratings for institutional investors and issuers.
- Scope Fund Analysis Scope Fund Analysis provides research and ratings on investment funds and asset managers for both institutional and retail investors, delivered through the ScopeExplorer platform.
- ScopeOne ScopeOne is Scope Group's digital platform for institutional investors and issuers of financial instruments, providing access to Scope's credit ratings, research, ESG analysis and fund ratings in one interface.
- ScopeExplorer
Quantifiable outcome
- More than 750 issuers and 13,500+ bonds rated representing EUR 43trn+ of debt
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Scope Group
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Scope Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Scope Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered major.
- DZ BANKmajorDZ BANK, central institution of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken cooperative financial network, is integrating Scope's ratings across the group including Union Investment, R+V Versicherung, and approximately 700 Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken.
- Bloomberg Financial SolutionsmajorScope's ratings now available via Bloomberg Terminal (CRPR, RATC, NH SCP functions), Bloomberg Data License, and B-PIPE real-time market data feed for global distribution to institutional investors.
- DekaBankmajorDekaBank, securities services provider of German Savings Banks Finance Group with EUR 400bn+ assets under management, is integrating and using Scope's ratings across the group. Plans to appoint Scope as External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) for capital requirement calculations.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Scope Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR): JCR is a leading Japanese credit rating agency that is ESMA-registered and offers CRA services into Europe. It is comparable as a non-US, non-European-headquartered CRA pursuing European bank-group mandates, though its primary franchise remains Japan.
- China Chengxin International Credit Rating: China Chengxin (CCXI) is one of China's largest domestic credit rating agencies and is ESMA-registered. It is comparable to Scope as a sovereign-affiliated non-Western CRA expanding into European debt markets, though its primary franchise is China.
- HR Ratings: HR Ratings is the largest Mexican credit rating agency and is ESMA-registered. It is comparable to Scope as a non-Big-Three, non-US-headquartered CRA with cross-border ambitions, although its primary market is Latin America rather than Europe.
Others
- Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics is a leading global ESG ratings provider now owned by Morningstar. It is comparable to Scope ESG Analysis as an ESG data, ratings and research provider used by European institutional investors, though Sustainalytics does not issue credit ratings.
- MSCI ESG Research: MSCI ESG Research is a leading provider of ESG ratings, data and analytics used by global institutional investors. It is comparable to Scope's ESG and fund-research adjacencies as an adjacent data provider, though MSCI does not issue credit ratings or fund-rating opinions.
Direct peers
- Moody's Corporation: One of the globally dominant credit rating agencies (Big Three). Moody's is a direct competitor to Scope Ratings in sovereign, corporate, financial-institution and structured-finance ratings, and similarly publishes ESG and fund-adjacent research through Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics.
- S&P Global Ratings: S&P Global Ratings is one of the Big Three global credit rating agencies and a direct competitor across all of Scope's covered segments — sovereigns, corporates, financial institutions, structured finance and ESG — competing for the same European mandate pool.
- Fitch Ratings: Fitch is the third member of the Big Three credit rating agencies and a direct competitor for European sovereign, bank, corporate and structured-finance ratings. Owned by Hearst, it shares Scope's mandate-based issuer-pay model and competes for the same European public-sector and supranational mandates.
Emerging players
- DBRS Morningstar: DBRS Morningstar is a mid-tier global credit rating agency with strong North American franchise and growing European presence. It is comparable as a non-Big-Three CRA seeking ECAI status at European banks, and overlaps with Scope in bank, sovereign and structured-finance ratings.
- CRIF Ratings: CRIF Ratings is an ESMA-registered European credit rating agency focused on SMEs and mid-cap corporates across Italy and broader Europe. It is comparable as a smaller European-headquartered CRA seeking to win bank-group mandates, though it does not currently have Scope's ECAF-level regulatory standing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Scope Group social profiles
Digital presenceScope Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Scope Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Scope Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Scope Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Scope Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Scope Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Scope Group
What does Scope Group do?
Scope Group provides independent credit ratings, ESG analysis and fund research covering all segments of European debt capital markets. Its rating business (Scope Ratings) issues opinion-driven, forward-looking and non-mechanistic credit risk assessments for sovereigns, financial institutions, non-financial corporates, covered bonds, ABS and structured finance, while Scope ESG Analysis provides ESG impact analysis based on a macroeconomic quantitative model and Scope Fund Analysis provides research and ratings on investment funds and asset managers. These analytical products are distributed through the proprietary ScopeOne platform for institutional investors and issuers, the ScopeExplorer platform for fund-focused investors, and via Bloomberg Terminal and Bloomberg Data License for global distribution.
Is Scope Group a public or private company?
Scope Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Scope Group founded?
Scope Group was founded in 2002. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Scope Group based?
Scope Group is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Scope Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Credit Rating Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are rating Mandates.
Who are Scope Group's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), China Chengxin International Credit Rating and HR Ratings. Others are Sustainalytics (Morningstar) and MSCI ESG Research. Direct peers are Moody's Corporation, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. Emerging players are DBRS Morningstar and CRIF Ratings.
Does Scope Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Scope Group.
What industry is Scope Group in?
Scope Group's product category is Credit Rating Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAFAIAI, ESG Data, Ratings & Climate Benchmarks, with a secondary code of FSAAALAJ, ESG Data, Ratings & Research (Providers, Methodologies, Analytics). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.