FLOYD ABRAMS - Huffington Post Investigative Fund

Facing Crackdown, Credit Raters Bring on Heavy Hitters

Ben Protess — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Courts Examine Credit Raters' 'Intimate' Relationship With Bankers

Ben Protess — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:51:52 +0000

Documents Provide Window Into Raters' Role in Structured Finance

Editor’s Note: This is the last of three articles by the Investigative Fund on the credit rating companies.

A decade ago, the nation’s largest credit-rating companies developed a new line of business that boosted their profits and sent them on a hiring spree. They began rating complex investments that featured large packages of bonds sometimes based on subprime mortgages. Read more »

How Credit Raters Fended Off Oversight From Congress and SEC

Ben Protess — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:49:16 +0000

Editor’s Note: This is the second of three articles by the Investigative Fund on the credit rating companies. Read the others here and here.

When the nation’s top credit rating companies came under attack in Washington in recent years, Charles E. Schumer often emerged as their strongest ally. Read more »

VIDEO: Lawyer for Credit Rater: We're Protected by First Amendment

Lagan Sebert — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:32:44 +0000

The nation's biggest credit rating agencies are facing blame for underestimating the risk that led to the financial crisis. Floyd Abrams is a renowned First Amendment lawyer who has represented the credit rating agency Standard and Poor's for more than 20 years. Abrams, who made his name defending the New York Times in its landmark Pentagon Papers case, told the Huffington Post Investigative Fund in an interview that raters are entitled to free-speech protections similar to those given to journalists. He is using the argument to defend S&P in billions of dollars worth of lawsuits. » Related Story: Under Attack, Credit Raters Turn to 1st Amendment Read more »

Under Attack, Credit Raters Turn to the First Amendment

Ben Protess — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:57:50 +0000

Editor’s Note: This is the second of three articles by the Investigative Fund on the credit rating companies. Read the others here and here.

For two decades, the nation’s top credit rating agencies have managed to fend off a crackdown from Washington by relying on a surprising ally – the First Amendment. Read more »