Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Not To Be Believed

National Journal
May 3, 2010

Bank CEOs, regulators and many government officials lost a lot of credibility in the expansion and bursting of the subprime bubble, and most of the people who failed to anticipate it have been replaced by voters or shareholders, or driven out of business. Oddly, the two dominant credit rating agencies are as dominant as ever, even though they have never really accounted for their crucial role in certifying subprime junk as AAA bonds. (Look here for an excellent account of skulduggery at Moody's.) Putting aside the question of how they ought to be regulated, why do investors still believe Moody's and Standard & Poor's?

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