The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission wants to curb some of Standard & Poor’s rating abilities.
The agency is reportedly looking to suspend S&P from rating commercial mortgage bonds as part of the SEC’s investigation into whether the rating firm tweaked its rating criteria in an effort to win customers in 2011, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, which cites an anonymous source, adds that the SEC is in talks with S&P parent company McGraw Hill Financial for a potential settlement, with S&P hoping to avoid a suspension that could damage the rating firm’s credibility. Bloomberg said that both the SEC and McGraw Hill declined to comment.
In July, the SEC alerted S&P to the fact that the federal agency was looking to file an enforcement action related to half a dozen commercial mortgage-backed securities rated by S&P in 2011
McGraw Hill Financial’s shares (MHFI) dipped by about 2% on Monday.