Committee slams rating agencies' role in NRock crisis

Select Committee chairman, John McFall, said the ratings agencies had failed and the firms were criticised for not flagging up Northern Rock’s problems earlier. Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's responded by saying they are now considering providing separate ratings for liquidity risks in the wake of the Northern Rock crisis. Fitch says it is creating a working party to consider rating liquidity, in response to the Northern Rock issue, while Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have indicated they will consider the issue. Standard & Poor’s management accepted that investors may have thought ...