GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Status

Forthcoming

Abstract

The Dodd-Frank Act promised to usher in sweeping changes to overhaul the rating agency industry whose shortcomings helped to pave the way to the financial crisis. But two years after the Act’s passage, hopes have given way to disappointment. The most important challenges of how to enhance rating agency competition, accuracy, and accountability remain largely open questions. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has made progress in heightening rating agency oversight and addressing the most egregious abuses that fueled the financial crisis. But rating agency reforms have fallen far short of their potential due to the Act’s competing objectives to marginalize ratings, to expose rating agencies to greater sunlight and private liability exposure, and to treat rating agencies as a regulated industry. The most important part of the Act remains the most unresolved: the SEC’s mandate to design an alternative for the issuer-pays system that addresses the conflicts of interest created by debt issuers selecting their rating agency gatekeepers. Prospects for an independent commission to select rating agencies for structured finance products have foundered due to the challenges of crafting benchmarks for rating agency performance to use in selecting rating agencies and holding them accountable. The danger is that any standard chosen for rating agencies could fuel herding effects as rating agencies may shape their methodologies to game the system, rather than to enhance accurate and timely assessments of credit risk. Given the difficulties in resolving this issue, this Article suggests that policymakers should consider alternative ways to enhance competition such as by using regulatory incentives to break up the leading rating agencies, so that smaller rating agencies can more plausibly compete. Additionally, it suggests the potential for expanding the scope of private enforcement opportunities to leverage the self-interest of issuers to prosecute grossly negligent conduct by rating agencies. This approach would complement the SEC’s ongoing efforts to foster greater competition and accountability.

GW Paper Series

GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2012-146; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2012-146

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