All 14 of March’s ESG-related rating actions were downgrades or negative outlook and CreditWatch changes. This is the first month without positive ESG-related rating actions since May 2020. Governance factors remained the primary driver with nine related rating actions. Risk management, culture, and oversight was the primary underlying ESG factor with five. Governance factors have driven 80% of ESG-related rating actions year to date. The downgrade of the Region of Brussels-Capital was the first ESG-related rating action this year on an international public finance issuer, driven by governance factors. It was also the only one on a European issuer in March--all others were on North America-based entities.