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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission



Credit Rating Agencies

Background: In 2006, Congress passed the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act. This law required the SEC to establish clear guidelines for determining which credit rating agencies qualify as Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs). It also gave the SEC the power to regulate NRSRO internal processes regarding record-keeping and how they guard against conflicts of interest, and specifically makes the NRSRO determination subject to a Commission vote. The law specifically prohibits the SEC from regulating an NRSRO's rating methodologies.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act enhances the SEC’s enforcement mechanisms, and adds a number of requirements on NRSROs that are immediately effective (i.e., do not depend on SEC rulemaking). The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the Commission to adopt a number of new rules concerning:

  • Annual reports on internal controls
     
  • Conflicts of interest with respect to sales and marketing practices
     
  • “Look-backs” when credit analysts leave the NRSRO
     
  • Fines and penalties
     
  • Disclosure of performance statistics
     
  • Application and disclosure of credit rating methodologies
     
  • Form disclosure of data and assumptions underlying credit ratings, among other things
     
  • Disclosure about third party due diligence
     
  • Analyst training and testing
     
  • Consistent application of rating symbols and definitions
     
  • Specific and additional disclosure for ratings related to ABS products

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires every federal agency to review existing regulations that require the use of an assessment of the credit-worthiness of the security or money market instrument and any references to credit ratings in such regulations; to modify such regulations identified in the review to remove any reference to, or requirement of reliance on credit ratings; and substitute with a standard of credit worthiness as the agency shall determine as appropriate for such regulations.

Implementation:

The Commission also has issued a series of proposals and final rules regarding the removal of references to credit ratings in its regulations:

 

 

http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/dodd-frank/creditratingagencies.shtml


Modified: 09/05/2014