Fitch, Moody's and S&P approved as official non-bank raters here

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has approved Fitch, Moody's and Standard and Poor's as ratings agencies under its new prudential supervision regime for non bank deposit takers, which includes building societies, credit unions and finance companies. Here is the RBNZ document detailing what is necessary for a ratings agency to be approved as a ratings agency for non-banks here in New Zealand. Here is the fact sheet for the general public on how the new prudential supervision regime will work, including how non-bank deposit takers will have to have a credit rating from March 2010.