cent of the stock, about 60 per cent of the stock is held by the banking system. as regards the corporate debt segment, both private placement and public issue, over half of the issuance is by banks and financial institutions. the corporates, especially the large corporate segment move in and out of bank advances and debt markets just as banks also participate in both. in this background, the rbi continuously reviews the nature and extent of linkages and adopts a wide range of mechanisms to enhance efficiency and impart stability. phased deregulation of limits for banks'investments in non - government debt instruments was accompanied by exposure norms, other prudential guidelines, valuation norms for debt instruments and asset liability management guidelines. the maturity profile and issue of innovative instruments in government securities market were also attuned to meet varying portfolio needs. in addition to risk weights for interest rate risks, a target has been indicated for establishing investment fluctuation reserve. legal changes have also been announced in the budget to create a market for securitisation. development financial institutions have also been permitted greater flexibility to operate on their liabilities and asset sides in debt instruments. role of credit rating agencies banks do possess intimate and specialised knowledge of the borrowers and are thus in a unique position to assess the risks in advances, while in the case of large number of investors in debt markets, such knowledge and skill are usually lacking. credit rating agencies ( cras ) help mitigate this problem of asymmetric information and the dissemination of information by the cra incidentally makes the regulator's task less onerous. cras have also faced a number of criticisms in recent years, especially after the asian crisis. the independence of ratings has been questioned, especially when ratings are paid for their services. questions are also raised about the accountability of cras, the potential for herding by investors and frequent changes in ratings causing volatility. excessive reliance on cras is, under these circumstances to be eschewed and in any case the quality of ratings by cras continuously assessed. some regulators prescribe that pension funds invest in debt instruments of investment grade only. credit rating has also been prescribed by regulators as the basis for exemption from registration norms for issuers of asset backed securities. some regulators insist on a minimum rating for corporates to become eligible for issuance of commercial paper. furthermore, specific credit rating limits have been made on the eligibility criteria for issuance of bonds in some countries. in india, there are four

prices late in 2018, which put canada ’ s oil sector under considerable stress. more recently, oil prices have firmed, including the prices our western producers receive. but transportation constraints on future growth remain a significant source of drag and uncertainty. this has led to another downward revision to investment intentions in the sector. some of this downgrade is likely more structural than cyclical in nature, as it represents the continued adjustment of the sector to global oil prices of us $ 50 – 60 per barrel, rather than the much higher prices of five years ago. this adjustment process is also being reflected in wages and other costs, and in developments in the housing market in alberta. it is important to note that as investments in the oil patch are pared back, canada ’ s growth slows. but when those investment levels stop falling, canada ’ s growth will pick up again, even if oil sector investment does not, because other areas of growth will come to dominate the data. we saw this same dynamic following the oil price shock of 2014 – 15. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches in addition to concerns about global trade and oil prices, we have continued to watch how the canadian housing market is adjusting to the combination of provincial and municipal housing policy measures, the revised guidelines for mortgage lending, and past increases in interest rates. the adjustment of the housing market is particularly important given the context of elevated levels of household debt. our analysis has been complicated by activity in some previously frothy markets — the greater toronto and vancouver areas, in particular. research by bank staff shows that the sharp rise in housing resales above fundamental levels in ontario and british columbia — and the subsequent fall — correlates strongly with house price expectations. this suggests that provincial and municipal housing policy measures have had a much stronger impact on housing activity than changes to mortgage lending guidelines and past increases in interest rates. supporting this analysis is the fact that many other markets across the country are seeing solid activity even though they have the same mortgage lending guidelines and interest rates. this is what would be expected in an economy that is growing, with a rising population and strong labour market. the implication is that as the situation in toronto and vancouver stabilizes, the canadian housing sector should return to growth overall later this year. finally, i would note that the federal government and several provinces have made fiscal announcements during budget season. our analysis suggests that the combined impact of adjusted spending plans announced to date would lead to a downward revision for our growth outlook of