Franken Pursues Tighter Oversight of Rating Agencies
Ben Protess (Dealbook/NYT)
September 1, 2011

“The Dodd-Frank Act cracked down on the credit rating agencies, the firms that awarded rosy ratings to bonds backed by junky mortgages, but some lawmakers and consumer advocates contend that the regulatory overhaul falls short. … ‘This is not a progressive or conservative idea — it’s a common-sense idea,’ Mr. Franken said on a conference call with reporters, hosted by Americans for Financial Reform, a consumer advocacy group. ‘Instead of pay-to-play, we’d switch to pay-for-performance.’ … Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, likened the rules to the ‘Chinese restaurant approach to reform,’ offering a smattering of options but no comprehensive overhaul. ‘The commission has proposed simply to do,’ she said on the conference call, what the rating agencies “already claim to be doing.” Click here for more.

SEC Proposal Fails to Fix Ratings Agencies: Sen. Franken
Melanie Waddell (AdvisorOne)
September 1, 2011

“Two of the biggest advocates of credit ratings agency reform warned Thursday that the credit rating agency reform proposals put forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of Dodd-Frank are inadequate, and that the ratings agencies are returning to practices that helped spur the financial meltdown. The pair—Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America—spoke during a conference call held by Americans for Financial Reform.” Click here for more.

Critics Exhort SEC To Overhaul Credit Rating Agency System
Jim McConville (Financial Advisor Magazine)
September 1, 2011

“If it’s broke, fix it.  That’s what critics of the nation’s credit rating agency system believe, contending that it’s in sore need of overhaul to prevent a repeat of the financial meltdown of 2008.  Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) exhorted the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a major makeover to the nation’s credit agency system that he called ‘fundamentally flawed.’ Franken was one of three panelists who participated in a conference call on Thursday sponsored by Americans for Financial Reform. Click here for more.
Additional Coverage: DSNews.com, The Hill, Firedoglake blog,