Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Looking to Revamp Role of Rating Agencies Amid Mortgage Mess 

The Securities and Exchange Commission, recently given regulatory authority over the rating agencies, said Thursday that it is leading a series of wide-ranging reviews into the role rating agencies have played in the current mortgage industry meltdown. SEC chairman Christopher Cox said yesterday that the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets is examining the “the role of credit rating agencies in lending practices … and how securitization has changed the mortgage industry.”