Credit Rating Agencies and the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008: What Went Wrong -and Will it Happen Again?

Webinar
April 21, 2011

Of all the major players in the recent market meltdown, few had a greater role than credit rating agencies. In the wake of the disasters of 2007-2008, a broad consensus has developed that the agencies failed in their critical gate-keeping function of assessing the creditworthiness of companies and financial instruments.

On April 21, 2011 Labaton Sucharow hosted an in-depth webinar exploring what went wrong with credit ratings - and whether new reforms are likely to prevent similar crises from happening again. Topics ranged from the structure and function of credit rating agencies, the role of the agencies in the recent crisis, and the fate of legislative and regulatory efforts to reform the industry.

This discussion featured a distinguished panel of experts including:

Sean Egan, the President and a Founding Principal of Egan-Jones Ratings Company, founded in 1994. Egan-Jones has been a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) since 2008.

Jeff Mahoney, the General Counsel of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), a nonprofit association of public, union and corporate employee benefit funds and foundations/endowments, with combined assets that exceed $3 trillion. CII is a leading voice for good corporate governance and shareowner rights.

Lisa Lindsley, the Director of Capital Strategies for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States.

Barbara Roper, Director of Investor Protection for the Consumer Federation of America, an association of non-profit consumer organizations established in 1968 to advance consumer interests through research, advocacy, and education.

Michael W. Stocker, a partner with Labaton Sucharow, represents institutional investors in shareholder litigation and corporate governance matters.

Click here to view the recorded webinar.

Click here to download the webinar presentation.