Rating agencies to charge for credit assessments for criteria for mortgage

A number of rating agencies now have to change their way in how they charge for credit assessments, this is for the mortgage-backed securities market. These credit assessments are used to prevent rating shopping, where only the highest ratings on a great deal are selected, which are then paid for.

This agreement will hopefully bring an end to the investigation that the New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo of Fitch Ratings has been running. The trouble came to light as rating agencies were being paid by the issuers for their securities they rate, they have since been criticised as they have not acted quickly enough when it comes to warning investors about how complex the debt is, as well as the mortgage-related products which is at the heart o f the current credit crisis.

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