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New Probe: Did Banks Dupe Credit Raters?

New York AG Andrew Cuomo investigates 8 big banks

By Emily Rauhala,  Newser User

Posted May 13, 2010 5:59 AM CDT | Updated May 13, 2010 7:32 AM CDT

(Newser) – More bad news for bankers: New York's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is investigating whether banks deliberately misled rating agencies ahead of the housing market collapse. So far, authorities have focused on dealings between banks and clients who purchased mortgage-backed securities, notes the New York Times. Cuomo's crusade broadens the scope by considering the relationship between banks and rating agencies,

The firms under investigation are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole, and Merrill Lynch (now owned by Bank of America), says Reuters. The agencies in question are Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings, and Moody's Investors Service.

Andrew Cuomo is looking into the relationship between banks and rating agencies.
Andrew Cuomo is looking into the relationship between banks and rating agencies.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
sirgil
May 14, 2010 1:21 PM CDT
Having done a couple of these deals, credit rating agencies weren't duped, they were complicit for fees
sirgil
May 13, 2010 1:24 PM CDT
At Last it takes a State AG to step up to the Big Boys. DC crowd has no stomach to dis these guys. Going further these groups are the roots of the poisonous tree giving rise to banking industry just as toxic, no matter the size. Pure evil lurks in the minds of bankers, we need reform badly, and injections of ethics serum quickly!!
cmenthead
May 13, 2010 11:54 AM CDT
deliberately deceive credit rating agencies ?????????
let's be real clear on this......... the responsibility for the rating belong entirely with the agencies.
that is their sole purpose !! if they got it wrong, for whatever reason, THEY got it wrong.
cuomo on another publicity trip, he should be investigatin why these powerful agencies didn't do THEIR job.

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