Latest S&P Headlines

All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S., States Weigh Suing Moody’s Over Mortgage Ratings

Feb 8 2013 // The U.S. Justice Department and multiple states are discussing also suing Moody’s Corp. for defrauding investors, according to people familiar with the matter, but any such move will likely wait until a similar...

Government Suit Against S&P Could Embolden Other Investors to Sue

Feb 6 2013 // Lawyers for Standard and Poor’s, responding to a U.S. government probe, have tried for months to show it did nothing wrong in rating exotic securities in the run-up to the financial crisis.In one meeting, the...

Government’s Case Against S&P: Ratings Stopped Making Sense

Feb 6 2013 // Barely two weeks after the big subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. went bankrupt, a top Standard & Poor’s executive assured Congress that her employer could be counted on to sound the alarm for the next...

U.S. Hits S&P with $5 Billion Fraud Lawsuit Over Mortgage Securities Ratings

Feb 5 2013 // The U.S. government is seeking $5 billion in its civil lawsuit against Standard & Poor’s, accusing the ratings service of defrauding investors, in one of the most ambitious cases yet from the Justice Department...

S&P Expects Government Lawsuit Over Its Pre-Crisis Credit Ratings

Feb 4 2013 // Standard & Poor’s said it expects to be the target of a U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuit over its mortgage bond ratings, the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged...

S&P Ratings for Guernsey Affirmed at ‘AA-plus’; Then Withdrawn

Jan 31 2013 // Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday affirmed its rating of offshore tax and banking haven Guernsey at AA-plus, but then withdrew the rating at the request of the government.S&P did not say why Guernsey had...

U.S. Insurers Should Be Stable in 2013, Says S&P

Jan 28 2013 // U.S. insurance sectors are generally poised for stable credit trends in 2013, resulting from strong balance sheets, a stable business climate, and improved enterprise risk management, according to Standard &...

S&P: Low Interest Rates, Regulation Issues Are Key Insurance Industry Risks

Jan 23 2013 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a new report – “Global Insurance Key Risks And Credit Trends Dominated By Low Interest Rates And Regulation Issues -” which examines how those two...

German Court Allows Investors to Sue S&P over Lehman Insolvency

Jan 18 2013 // Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has ruled that investors can sue Standard & Poor’s for failing to adequately reflect the deteriorating financial health of Lehman Brothers in its rating assessment...

U.S. Insurers Should Be Stable in 2013, Says S&P

Jan 9 2013 // U.S. insurance sectors are generally poised for stable credit trends in 2013, resulting from strong balance sheets, a stable business climate, and improved enterprise risk management, according to Standard &...

S&P Sees No Change for Willis’ Ratings from Goodwill and Remuneration Changes

Dec 21 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has said that its ratings on Willis Group Holdings PLC (‘BBB’-/Stable/–) are unchanged “following the company’s announcement of charges related to...

S&P Rates Aon plc. Note Exchanges ‘BBB+’; Outlook Stable

Dec 14 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘BBB+/A-2’ counterparty credit rating to Aon plc., and a ‘BBB+’ debt rating to AON’s proposed senior debt issue. “This is...

S&P Says Reinsurers Faced Unexpected Risks from Hurricane Sandy

Dec 11 2012 // A report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services notes that “despite uncertainties regarding final loss totals from Hurricane Sandy expects only a limited ratings impact on insurers and reinsurers exposed...

Sandy to Have Only Limited Impact on Insurer Ratings: S&P

Dec 11 2012 // Despite uncertainties regarding final loss totals from Hurricane Sandy, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it expects only a limited ratings impact on insurers and reinsurers exposed to such losses,...

S&P Affirms Liberty Mutual Group’s Ratings; Outlook Revised to Stable

Dec 6 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on Liberty Mutual Group Inc. as well as its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial...

Court Finds Rating Agencies Not Liable on Toxic Mortgages

Dec 4 2012 // Major credit rating agencies won a fresh legal victory on Monday when a federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit by Ohio pension funds that sought to recoup millions of dollars of losses on risky mortgage debt they said...

Reinsurers’ Capital Can Absorb Sandy Losses Below $50B: S&P

Dec 3 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that the reinsurance sector’s strong capital and very strong earnings thus far in 2012 will allow it to withstand losses well outside the range of current insured...

S&P Report: Reinsurers Discuss Industry Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy

Nov 30 2012 // A recent report, “Reinsurance Industry Leaders Discuss Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy,” published Nov. 29, 2012, on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, notes that...

Reinsurers’ Capital Can Absorb Sandy Losses Below $50 Billion: S&P

Nov 14 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that the reinsurance sector’s strong capital and very strong earnings thus far in 2012 will allow it to withstand losses well outside the range of current insured...

Hurricane Sandy Losses Should Not Affect Most Insurer Ratings or Premiums: S&P

Oct 31 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it expects Hurricane Sandy to have only limited impact on the ratings on U.S. property/casualty insurers, global reinsurers, and certain catastrophe bonds.Although it...