MaryAnn Dempsey: Banker & Tradesman

Report: U.S. Investigating S&P Over Mortgages

Another investigation as to whether Standard & Poor's improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years before the financial crisis. The investigation began before S&P a downgraded long-term U.S. debt from a AAA rating to AA-plus this month. In the mortgage investigation, the Justice Department is asking about instances in which S&P analysts wanted to assign lower ratings to mortgage bonds but may have been possibly overruled by S&P business managers. Why would the Justice Department spokesman decline to comment on the story? S&P is not immediately responding to calls. It is not clear as to whether the Justice Department investigation is also involving other ratings agencies, such as Moody's Corp. and Fimalac SA's Fitch, or only S&P. I guess the paper quoted someone for S&P, via email that the agency had received several requests from different government agencies over the last few years and that it was cooperating with these requests. Despite the outcry over the ratings agencies' failures in the financial crisis, investors still rely heavily on ratings from the three main agencies for their purchases of sovereign and corporate debt, as well as other complex financial products. Some companies and some countries, but not the U.S., pay the agencies to receive a rating. For decades, the government issued rules that banks, mutual funds and others could rely on a AAA stamp of approval for investing decisions - which bolstered the agencies' power. A successful case or settlement against a giant like S&P could accelerate the shift away from the possible traditional ratings system. For instance, maybe the Dodd-Frank financial reform overhaul sought to decrease the emphasis on ratings, but bank regulators have been slow to spell out how the reform would work. S&P has been under fire from lawmakers, market players and the Treasury Department since its decision to cut the U.S. credit rating. The Securities and Exchange Commission was also reviewing whether S&P followed all of its policies leading up to the credit downgrade, according to sources familiar with the review. This blog is soley my opinion from the facts I have gathered via, the news only.

MaryAnn Dempsey

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Banker & Tradesman

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