U.S. Reportedly Probes S&P on Mortgages
The U.S. Justice Department has an on going probe into Standard &P's rating of mortgage backed securities that were a key component in the global financial crisis of 2008. The probe, which began before S&P downgraded U.S. Government Debt, looks at whether management at S&P overruled analysts with regards to the creditworthiness of AAA rated mortgage backed securities. A number of countries and companies pay S&P for their ratings and those ratings are used by investors to ascertain the likelihood of default by a company or a country. The rating agency is cooperating with federal investigators, allowing them access to current and former staff.