Obama Calls for Closer Scrutiny of Credit-Ratings Agencies

[Nambe]

Source: Sept. 16 (Bloomberg)

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said investors shouldn't expect taxpayers to bail them out when financial markets are in turmoil and proposed closer scrutiny of credit-ratings services.

The Illinois senator, reacting to the collapse of New York- based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said regulation of Wall Street needs to ``catch up'' with changes in financial markets.

``Whether it's Freddie Mac or some of the investment banks, at some level what you had is a situation in which investors and management at these firms were taking extraordinary risks with enormous upside when the market was good, but you can't have a situation where you expect the taxpayers to foot the bill when times are bad,'' Obama said in an interview yesterday with Bloomberg Television. ...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080916/pl_bloomberg/akvmvsnc5ghk_1

[Donnachaidh]

1. the hell with watching them -- slap them into HEAVY regulation

I don't want the government to *watch* these crooks - I want them slammed into regulations that will put CEO's and others who want to get greedy thrown into JAIL and their *toys* taken away and sold, to re-pay the companies.

Only in America will we seize the property of other criminals and sell it off - but the corporate criminals get their golden parachutes and a bail out AFTER they've stripped the place down to the toilet roll holders.... :grr:

[TooRaLoo]

2. CRA's are among the worst establishments our country allows.

So much of the American Dream relies on our credit scores. They're "our" credit scores, but we have to pay to see them, aren't privy to how our scores are calculated, and companies only report to them voluntarily - they have to pay big bucks - and this is only done on their part as insurance against the would-be deliquent consumer. What about all the bills we do pay on time every month for years that are not reported? Why do our scores go DOWN instead of up when we pay off a collection? How come all they need, in order to be sure of our identity, is a name and address or SS# (which is often wrong) to stick an account on our credit - but when we need to correct an inaccuracy (and most peoples' credit files are laden with inaccuracies), they need a birth certificate, letter from your mother, and a hair sample?

I could go on, and on, and on.

[Waiting For Everyman]

3. Scores should be outlawed, they're only an excuse to overcharge.

We got along very well without them until recently. Scores are subsituting for judgment. This proves it doesn't work.

[TooRaLoo]

7. couldn't agree more. nt

[Yavin4]

4. Credit-Ratings Agencies Are The Worst

They have different rules for corporations vs. state and local govts. They rate corps. higher even though they may be shady, but they rate state and local govts lower even though they're more open and honest about their books.

The end result is that taxpayers have to pay higher rates of interests on bonds.

[Hugin]

5. Hear! Hear! Sen. Obama!

:obama!

[Hugin]

6. K&R

So true! So true!