1. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (2011) The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
2. A settlement was reached in February 2015 whereby Standard and Poor’s paid over $1 billion in compensation.
3. Altman, E.I., Oncu, S., Schmeits, A. and White, L.J. (2010) What should be done about the credit rating agencies? 6 April, http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/blogs/regulatingwallstreet/2010/04/what-should-be-done-about-the.html , 21 February 2015.
4. According to David Sicilia (2012), the criteria for achieving NRSRO status were not defined for many years.
5. In its report on the global financial crisis, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission presents some interesting facts and figures about Moody’s performance in the heyday of structured products when rating CDOs was a lucrative business. Moody’s rated 220 deals in 2004, 363 in 2006, 749 in 2006 and 717 in 2007. The value of those deals rose from $90 billion in 2004 to $162 billion in 2005, $337 billion in 2006 and $326 billion in 2007. The reported revenues of Moody’s from structured products grew from $199 million in 2000, or 33 per cent of Moody’s revenues, to $837 million in 2006 or 44 per cent of overall corporate revenue. The boom years of structured finance coincided with a company-wide surge in revenue and profits. From 2000 to 2006, Moody’s revenues surged from $602 million to $2 billion while its profit margin climbed from 26 to 37per cent.