Moody's

Calls For Tighter SEC Oversight Of Firms; SEC Chairman Cox Acknowledges Investigators Have Uncovered Improper Practices At Ratings Firms

April 22, 2008 -- Report: Moody's Curried Favor With Clients To Inflate Firm's Market Share -- WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) today pressed the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission to crack down on conflict-of-interest violations at the major credit-ratings agencies, which he said conspired to inflate an unsustainable credit bubble. Under questioning by Schumer before the Senate Banking Committee, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox disclosed that the firms disregarded their own internal controls meant to prevent the relationship between the firm and its clients from getting too close.    » read more »

16 August 2007 -- The European Union is expected to review credit rating companies after allegations that they were too slow to warn of problems with the U.S. home loan businesses.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has urged the group of seven industrialized nations to better monitor international financial markets in the face of global credit concerns. His appeal in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel was made public Thursday as the French stock market dropped to its lowest level this year.    » read more »