19 Oct Washington Times: Moody’s Moral Sell-Out

R&R Consulting principal Sylvain Raynes is quoted in a ground-breaking expose by McClatchy Newspapers on how Moody’s compromised the integrity of its credit ratings:

“As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody’s Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and executives who warned of trouble and promoting those who helped Wall Street plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression…

“‘In my days, I was pressured to do nothing, to not do my job,’ said [Sylvain] Raynes, who left Moody’s in 1997. ‘I saw in two instances — two deals and a rental car deal — manipulation of the rating process to the detriment of investors.'”

Read the full article by Kevin G. Hall, “How Moody’s sold its ratings — and sold out investors,” McClatchy Newspapers, October 18, 2009.