Hipp-Hur-R-“AAA”-TING [AGENT – BALANCE-SHEET – COSMETICS – DERIVATIVES – EROSION – FRAUD – “EARTH ON SALE”]

CFR BACKGOUNDERS, THE CREDIT RATING CONTROVERSY, 29TH JUNE, 2015: The "Big Three" global credit rating agencies—U.S.-based STANDARD AND POOR'S (S&P), MOODY'S, AND FITCH RATINGS—HAVE COME UNDER INTENSE SCRUTINY IN THE WAKE OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS. ∆ Industry Structure: 'ISSUER PAYS' VS. 'SUBSCRIBER PAYS': MOST CRITICISM OF CREDIT RATERS CENTERS ON THE "ISSUER PAYS" MODEL—EMPLOYED BY EACH OF THE BIG THREE—WHEREBY A BOND'S ISSUER PAYS THE RATING AGENCIES FOR THE INITIAL RATING OF A SECURITY, AS WELL AS ONGOING RATINGS. THE PUBLIC (AND INVESTORS) CAN THEN ACCESS THESE RATINGS FREE OF CHARGE. The popularity of this model grew in the 1970s, following years of "subscriber pays" dominance, in which INVESTORS PAID FOR THE RATINGS instead. Issuers, who needed certain ratings in order to sell their bonds to regulated financial institutions, may have been more willing to pay for these services than investors were, according to a 2010 OECD report. THE ECONOMIST, The Volcker rule: THE NEXT GREAT REGULATION TO TAME BANKS IS NOW IN PLACE, 25th JULY, 2015: ∆ THE AIM OF THE RULE IS TO STOP BANKS (AND THEIR WORLDWIDE AFFILIATES) WITH THE IMPLICIT SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT FROM INDULGING IN SPECULATION AND BECOMING ENMESHED IN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.