Credit Rating of Firms in Southern Italy: a Structural Analisys of Micro Data

This paper focuses on the credit rating of Southern Italy firms, by using theMulti Objective Rating Evaluation Model (MORE), based on the accounting datataken from the Bureau van Dijk's Amadeus database. Solvency classes are set byfirms' size and sectoral breakdown. With reference to manufacturing and serviceindustries, firms' credit rating is also analyzed by taking into account the differenttechnological degrees of the innovation clusters the firms belong to.Data show that technical rating composition is quite similar in Southern Italyregions. Specifically, despite an overall good state of health, most firms in SouthernItaly present some critical points that, if not promptly solved, might lead toa deeper financial crisis. Moreover, with the exception of Puglia and Sardinia,the highest credit rating is ascribed to micro-enterprises which make up aboutthe 90% of the analyzed sample. As to sectoral breakdown, the most numeroussectors, that is construction and retailing sectors, are characterized by a relativelylow percentage of firms with a positive technical rating. On the contrary,the highest credit rating pertains to the less numerous sectors of the analyzedsample. The solvency analysis by technological innovation clusters shows that thepercentage of firms with a very good financial solidity increases as the technologicalintensity of the cluster rises.