Posted on 08/17/2011 7:15:40 PM PDT by tobyhill
The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation’s largest credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, according to two people interviewed by the government and another briefed on such interviews.
The investigation began before Standard & Poor’s cut the United States’ AAA credit rating this month, but it is likely to add fuel to the political firestorm that has surrounded that action. Lawmakers and some administration officials have since questioned the agency’s secretive process, its credibility and the competence of its analysts, claiming to have found an error in its debt calculations.
In the mortgage inquiry, the Justice Department has been asking about instances in which the company’s analysts wanted to award lower ratings on mortgage bonds but may have been overruled by other S.& P. business managers, according to the people with knowledge of the interviews. If the government finds enough evidence to support such a case, which is likely to be a civil case, it could undercut S.& P.’s longstanding claim that its analysts act independently from business concerns.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They need to leave the US to protect their independence, try swiss
The investigation may have been started before the rate cut but the results of that investigation are now a forgone conclusion.
Ah, so nice to see the Chicago Thugs in action. I hope S&P prepared for this possibility.
I cannot stand obama. (little o, not a real god).
Ah, so nice to see the Chicago Thugs in action. I hope S&P prepared for this possibility.
I cannot stand obama. (little o, not a real god).
What took so long?
Der Fuhrer and his Gestapo are not happy campers right now. The folks down at S&P are about to get their butts handed to them. Never mess with der Fuhrer. This isn’t America anymore, Toto.
Thanks tobyhill.
An investigation would lead back to banks then Congress itself, don’t expect much out of this probing. Maybe a scapegoat is found, at the most.
I have no problem with this. Selling bad loans caused this bitch.
You are probably right. Make no mistake that Obama told Holder it’s payback time. These Chicago thugs operate like the mafia without tommy guns.
You are probably right. Make no mistake that Obama told Holder it’s payback time. These Chicago thugs operate like the mafia without tommy guns.
S&P and Moodys have the cash to pay attorneys to defund against the witch hunt. Fitch is a small player and cannot affort the full on assault of the department of justice.
That’s why Fitch didn’t downgrade the US.
Either way, the cow poop is going to hit the high speed propeller.
This is payback, pure and simple.
The DOJ may have a cause of action but they had the same cause of action 3 years ago.
I understand.
Now this is a pretty obvious political hit - the other major ratings agencies were playing MBS-rating games, relying on un-meetable CDS obligations and security tiering for risk sanitization - so the message is unmistakable.
But the problem for the Obama gang is that it's a public political hit. Who is going to believe another US rating agency now? They will ask: is that a real rating or is that the trade-off for not getting prosecuted? They will then look to foreign ratings agencies for real ratings, and find that lo and behold, the actual fiscal situation is that we are a BBB with a downgrade watch.
If they thought AA+ was a problem, wait until these thug tactics knock the country into junk status.
Do you place the authority of S&P over that of the US government?
The situation is an interesting one, and reminiscent of Andrew Jackson’s situation, in the 1800s.
Think about it: A foreign entity, a corporation, has threatened the United States with a financial weapon. I mean, ignore whether the rating is fair or not; what matters here is that there is a power play from a foreign entity that threatens our country.
What do you think should be done, all fairness aside?
You have got to Love this, So the Government is Going to Investigate S&P for rating those CraP mortgages the GOVERNMENT was Forcing Banks to Make to People who Couldnt Pay them Back TRIPLE A? Go ahead bring it on,Fannie and Freddie were Bundling these Crap things and Peddling them around the World as Triple A rated,Government backed,and Now the Government is saying they did not Know they were Crap but S&P should have Known?Who the Hell are they Kidding
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.