Selected writings by David Fiderer
First published in American Banker on June 18, 2013
Moody’s CEO “Categorically Rejects” Ratings Shopping
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent roundtable on ratings shopping in structured finance was a reminder of how Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Min.) efforts at reform are obstructed by a wall of denial. Standard & Poor’s denied that any proposal for reform would be workable, and the SEC effectively denied that the issue requires action any time soon. Neither was as direct or as blunt as Moody’s Investors Service CEO Raymond McDaniel, who has previously denied that any problem ever existed.
“That conflicts of interest led to inflated ratings at Moody’s is a concept I categorically reject,” he told the Financial Times last January. For more…