S&P agrees to change some business practices

Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday it has tentatively settled with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to overhaul some of its business practices in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis. Cuomo has been probing the way that S&P and the two other major ratings agencies, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, charge fees to bond issuers for rating their securities.

NEW YORK (AP) — Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday it has tentatively settled with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to overhaul some of its business practices in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Cuomo has been probing the way that S&P and the two other major ratings agencies, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, charge fees to bond issuers for rating their securities.

The industry, dominated by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, has been roundly criticized for failing to accurately assess — and warn investors about — the risks that mortgage investments posed to financial markets.

Tags: stock, market, standards, and, poors

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