http://www.theratingsdebate.com Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Senator Judd Gregg, (R-NH) who is working with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) on regulation of derivatives and credit rating agencies, criticized President Obama’s proposals to tax and curb Wall Street’s activities, calling the bank tax a political response to losing the Massachusetts Senate seat. “I think it’s confused the issue considerably, ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/obama%e2%80%99s-bank-tax-draws-fire/ NRSRO — the shorthand for credit rating agencies registered with the SEC — is currently in dispute, specifically with regards to the second letter. Until recently, the acronym stood for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization. But the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, HR 4173, officially changed the second ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/chairman-frank-pledges-fix-on-nrsro-language/ Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, Portugal’s finance minister was critical of the international credit rating agencies for damaging his country’s economy. He is saying that the risk assessments being made are mistaken. The Financial Times reports him saying, “Many of the problems we face are related to errors in risk evaluation that ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/portugal%e2%80%99s-finance-minister-blames-ratings-agencies/ U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed claims against Moody's Corp and Standard & Poor's in litigation over nearly $100 billion of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. mortgage-backed securities. Investors had accused the agencies of having misled them by disregarding ratings guidelines and having a conflict of interest. They claimed that the agencies ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-against-moody%e2%80%99s-and-standard-poor%e2%80%99s/ Credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's are widely criticized for assigning high ratings to investments, particularly mortgage-backed securities, that later proved to be of poor quality. They are widely blamed for disserving investors. Despite the damage done to their reputations, as the economy recovers, the credit rating agencies’ fortunes ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/ratings-agencies-announce-higher-than-expected-profits/ FHLB Seattle, forced by regulators to write down millions in downgraded MBS last year , has effectively sued all of Wall Street for selling them $4 Billion in inappropriately underwritten MBS.  This action accuses the Street of intentionally selling MBS that was underwritten with lax standards, didn’t have proper documentation or ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/fhlb-seattle-sues-wall-street/ Peter Wallison, a Treasury Official in the Reagan administration, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Edward Pinto, former Fannie Mae credit manager, discovered that both Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac routinely exaggerated the quality of its mortgages. Mr. Pinto explains that Alt A and subprime mortgages were routinely rated ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/ratings-agencies-relied-on-bad-information-from-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae/ Deven Sharma, President of Standard & Poors, has argued for the repeal of regulations that require banks, public pensions, money market funds, and other regulated investors to hold debt evaluated by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs). Standard & Poors is one of ten NRSROs, and these regulations originated ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/sp-president-pushes-to-drop-ratings-requirements/ Well , we got our answer from the SEC. today. Chairman Mary Shapiro  answered the Journal in a letter to the editor. It seems that  the SEC doesn’t want the NRSROs to be the end-all for credit measurements. They are “seeking to reduce an undue reliance on the ratings” and that ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/the-sec-speaks-out/ The S.E.C. seems to be going back to the same old regulatory structure. Last year, money market funds showed stress, and the US government prevented the funds from breaking the buck. In the future, don’t we want investors to bear the cost of their own decisions? Do we want the government ... http://www.theratingsdebate.com/674/