About

Mission & Values

Our mission is to make credit and sustainability risk as transparent as possible for institutional investors and issuers to help them take more informed decisions to add economic value.

At Scope, we live by the following corporate values:

We offer a European alternative and analytical excellence
We help investors and issuers identify credit, investment and sustainability risk
We are entrepreneurial and focused tightly on serving our clients
We embrace the empowerment of our employees
We encourage diverse perspectives

Our story

Scope Group was founded in Berlin in 2002 by Florian Schoeller as a firm specialising in the analysis of alternative investments.

In 2012, shareholders and management decided that Scope would expand into rating credit with the goal of establishing the firm as the European alternative to the US rating agencies. To build the platform for developing the new business, Scope acquired PSR Ratings, an ESMA-registered company specialised in analysing companies in the automotive sector.

Scope’s next step was to grow internationally across relevant rating classes while building its reputation for the highest quality credit assessment. Scope hired several experienced and established analysts and managers between 2013 and 2015 to ensure the industry-leading standards of quality and professionalism.

Acquisitions have continued. In mid-2016, Scope acquired FERI EuroRating Services AG. In January 2021, Scope acquired Euler Hermes Rating. Today, Scope Ratings, a wholly owned Scope subsidiary, is the uncontested market leader among European rating agencies.

Scope has raised financing from investors across Europe. The company secured funding from institutional investors such as RAG-Stiftung, HDI / talanx and die Mobiliar. AXA is the latest institutional investor to show its confidence in Scope’s growth by becoming a shareholder.

Scope employs more than 300 people at its locations in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Milan, Oslo and Paris. Over the past five years, Scope’s shareholders have invested around EUR 80m in establishing a viable European competitor within the global rating industry. Scope's product offering now includes credit ratings, ESG analysis, fund analysis in addition to other customised financial services. Institutional investors have access to all rating services on ScopeOne, Scope’s innovative digital platform.

Scope plans to gradually expand its business model worldwide. Scope’s strategy is to cater to the needs of institutional investors with a growing range of innovative products and services. The group will apply for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) status in the United States as well as for Eurosystem Credit Assessment Framework (ECAF) status in Europe. The objective is to lead innovation in the provision of independent assessments, ratings and research in the financial industry.

Leadership

Executive Board

Florian Schoeller

Group CEO

Entrepreneur & financial services expert
15 years+ experience in asset-based finance

Christopher Hoffmann

Group CFO

Former CFO at high-tech growth company va-Q-tec
Former growth investor at private equity firm Zouk Capital
Former management consultant at McKinsey & Company

Guillaume Jolivet

Group COO

Head of Scope’s credit rating unit since 2019
Launched Scope’s structured finance practice in 2013
20+ years in credit analysis with Scope, Moody’s and UBS Warburg

Supervisory Board

Inès de Dinechin

Chair

Former CEO - Aviva Investors France
Former CEO and Chairwoman - Lyxor Asset Management

Carsten Dentler

Deputy Chair

Former Member of the Executive Board of UBS Deutschland AG
Former Member of the Executive Board of Morgan Stanley Bank AG

Sebastian Canzler

Member

Managing Partner of Alpina Capital Partners
Former member of the management board of AUCTUS Capital Partners

Chantal Schumacher

Member

Former Group CFO, Member of the Board, Euler Hermes Group
Former CFO, Allianz Reinsurance

Eberhard Vetter

Member

Head of Asset Management RAG-Stiftung
Member of various supervisory boards DIC ASSET AG, GEG AG (German estate group)

Administrative Board

Paul Mazataud

Member of the Administrative Board

President of RailNetEurope
Former Group Managing Director at Moody's Inverstors Service

Fernando Mayorga

Member of the Administrative Board

Former Chief Executive Officer for the Spanish offices of Fitch Ratings
Former Global Analytical Head of the International Public Finance Department at Fitch Ratings

Legal Structure & Shareholders

Scope SE & Co. KGaA is the holding company of the Scope Group and the leading EU-based provider of independent ratings, research and risk analysis solutions across asset classes.

The agency’s legal structure includes the separation of shareholder’s interests from strategic management. The Scope Foundation, one of three general partners, ensures in the long term that no one besides the three can influence the corporate strategy and orientation of Scope and that the rating agency will always remain in the hands of European guardian shareholders.

Scope’s shareholder structure also includes limited partners. These are long-term investors such as the Quandt family, RAG-Stiftung, one of Germany’s largest foundations, and insurance companies such as AXA, HDI / talanx, and die Mobiliar. In addition, numerous renowned individual shareholders with distinguished backgrounds in finance and industry have invested in the European rating alternative.

General Partners

Florian Schoeller

Stefan Quandt

Limited Partners

Institutional Investors

Private shareholders

Approximately 80 renowned shareholders with distinguished backgrounds in finance and industry have invested in Scope, Europe’s leading rating firm.

Licences

ESMA registration

Scope Ratings, the subsidiary offering credit ratings, is a European rating agency registered with the Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). It is governed by the European Credit Rating Agency regulatory framework (Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on credit rating agencies).

ECAI status

Since 2014, Scope Ratings was accredited as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI). ECAIs play a major role in the standardized approach and securitization framework of prudential regulation. Therefore, their credit assessments must be mapped to the corresponding risk weights. The three European Supervisory Authorities, European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), map all ECAIs in order to promote the consistent implementation of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) throughout the European Union. The Supervisory Authorities have determined that Scope shares the same quality mapping as the main competitors.

FINMA registration

Since 2019, Scope Ratings has obtained the registration with the Swiss financial market supervisory authority FINMA.

Public Affairs

Scope seeks exchange with various stakeholders, including politics, the business world and society. We contribute our expertise, position ourselves and jointly find solutions for our sector, our business and our customers.

Scope communicates its interests in a transparent way. For us, responsible lobbying is part of our corporate strategy. This means:

Our political outreach is transparent and consistent. Example: Scope Group is registered in the EU's Transparency Register. This means that we observe the register’s code of conduct.
Our objectives are no secret. Example: Scope participates in selected associations to promote the best interests of European issuers and investors in ensuring they have sovereignty in the financing of the European economy.
Our lobbying activities are in line with our sustainability strategy. Example: Scope is the only credit rating agency which has been appointed member of the Sustainable Finance Committee of the Federal Government. We offer our expertise to advise the German government on the development and implementation of its Sustainable Finance Strategy.

Send Mail +49 30 27891-0

Sustainability
& Group Policies

Sustainability is an integral part of our corporate strategy. The Scope Group is guided by the principles of sustainability at all levels of its business operations. In our actions and activities with employees, customers, market participants and competitors, Scope acts according to the highest standards of ethical business conduct, which are embodied in our Group Code of Ethics. We also expect our suppliers to act in accordance with our corporate values.

As a responsible employer, Scope employees can choose from a range of diverse benefits. The Scope Group also aims at minimising our environmental impact. The greatest impact in our activities stems from business travel, but Scope also chooses sustainable office supplies whenever possible. As the group develops, our sustainability strategy will develop further.