Credit-Rating Companies `Sold Our Soul' for Pay, Employees Said

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Employees at Moody's Investors Service told executives that issuing dubious creditworthy ratings to mortgage-backed securities made it appear they were incompetent or ``sold our soul to the devil for revenue,'' according to e-mails obtained by U.S. House investigators.

The e-mail was one of several documents made public today at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, which is reviewing the role played by Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings in the global credit freeze.

``The story of the credit rating agencies is a story of colossal failure,'' Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said at the hearing. ``The result is that our entire financial system is now at risk.''

--snip
The Securities and Exchange Commission in a July report found the credit-rating companies improperly managed conflicts of interest and violated internal procedures in granting top rankings to mortgage bonds.

An e-mail that a S&P employee wrote to a co-worker in 2006, obtained by committee investigators, said, ``Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters.''

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ac8...

[Supersedeas]

1. another example of the Republican ethos -- when they look in the mirror, do they see Dana Perino?

[Tempest]

2. A repeat of Enron

How much more is the American public going to take?

[DainBramaged]

3. A LOT of fucking criminals made a LOT of money at OUR expense

[Gin]

4. the hearing today was interesting.....the panelists were under heavy fire

from Congress....too little too late...but was good theater anyway.

[brentspeak]

5. "``We have learned important lessons from these fast-changing market conditions,''

The only lessons that should be learned are that 1) Moody's and S&P executives should be brought up on charges; 2) both credit-rating companies should be barred from doing any more business. Time to start anew.

[DainBramaged]

6. The lessons they learned were how to steal faster

[Laelth]

7. Important. k&r n/t

-Laelth