SEC Focuses Its Reforms On Credit Rating Methodologies And Disclosure

The SEC recently released a final rule concerning the process by which rating agencies rate structured finance products without taking action with respect to the remainder of its proposals, which would have limited issuance of asset-backed securities.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) proposed regulations relating to asset-backed securities, which would have diminished the role of rating agencies in the context of asset-backed securities and limited the sale of such securities to sophisticated investors, are discussed in a McDermott Will & Emery On the Subject dated July 7, 2008. The SEC recently released its final rule amending the rules applicable to nationally recognized statistical rating organizations as part of its effort to address concerns about the integrity of the process by which rating agencies rate structured finance products. However, the SEC has not taken action with respect to the remainder of its proposals, leaving investment