SEC Announces Panelists and Agenda for Credit Rating Agencies Roundtable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009-65

Washington, D.C., March 24, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the expected panelists for its April 15 roundtable relating to its oversight of credit rating agencies.

The roundtable will be held at the SEC's Washington, D.C., headquarters and will begin at 10 a.m. ET with opening remarks from SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro.

"The roundtable will thoroughly review relevant aspects of regulating credit rating agencies," said Chairman Schapiro. "Insight from leading experts on credit rating agencies and the financial markets will assist the Commission as it continues to pursue aggressive oversight of the industry."

Discussion topics will include issues related to recent SEC rulemaking initiatives, such as conflicts of interest, competition, and transparency. The roundtable will consist of four panels.

Roundtable participants will include leaders from investor organizations, financial services associations, credit rating agencies, and academia.

10:10 a.m. — Panel One: Current NRSRO Perspectives: What Went Wrong and What Corrective Steps Is the Industry Taking?

• Daniel Curry, DBRS
• Sean Egan, Egan-Jones Ratings
• Stephen Joynt, Fitch Ratings
• Raymond McDaniel, Moody's Investor Service
• Deven Sharma, Standard & Poor's

11:30 a.m. — Panel Two: Competition Issues: What are Current Barriers to Entering the Credit Rating Agency Industry?

• Ethan Berman, RiskMetrics Group
• James H. Gellert, RapidRatings
• George Miller, American Securitization Forum
• Frank Partnoy, University of San Diego
• Alex Pollock, American Enterprise Institute
• Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO
• Lawrence J. White, New York University

12:30 p.m. — Lunch Break

1:15 p.m. — Panel Three: Users' Perspectives

• Deborah A. Cunningham, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
• Alan J. Fohrer, Southern California Edison
• Christopher Gootkind, Wellington Management
• James Kaitz, Association of Financial Professionals
• Kurt N. Schacht, CFA Institute
• Bruce Stern, Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers
• Paul Schott Stevens, Investment Company Institute

2:45 p.m. — Panel Four: Approaches to Improve Credit Rating Agency Oversight

• Richard Baker, Managed Funds Association
• Jörgen Holmquist, European Commission
• Mayree C. Clark, Aetos Capital
• Joseph A. Grundfest, Stanford Law School
• Glenn Reynolds, CreditSights
• Stephen Thieke, Group of Thirty

The roundtable is expected to end at approximately 4:15 p.m. with concluding remarks by Erik R. Sirri, Director of the SEC's Division of Trading & Markets.

In the fall of 2006, Congress passed the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act, providing the SEC for the first time with authority to supervise credit rating agencies. Using this authority that became effective in June 2007, the Commission has adopted two major rulemakings, has conducted an extensive 10-month examination of three major credit rating agencies, and has several pending proposals to further the Act's purpose of promoting accountability, transparency, and competition in the rating industry.

The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC's headquarters at 100 F Street, NE, in Washington, D.C. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable also will be webcast on the SEC Web site.

For additional information about the roundtable, contact Marlon Q. Paz in the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets at (202) 551-5756.

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