A review of pooling and servicing agreements from large subprime securitization programs in 2006 reveals that about 10% of the contract ban loan modifications altogether. The other 90% do not seem to forbid win-win loan modifications (defined as modifications that benefit the borrower and...

The SEC's proposal that rating agencies be required to disclose 100% of their ratings actions in a publicly accessible format is a step in the right direction, especially in light of the dominant rating agencies' claims that their issuer-pays business model is justified on the ground that it...

The quot;worldwide credit crisisquot; has thrust credit rating agencies into the spotlight, with attention focused on their ratings of novel structured finance products. Policymakers have undertaken a number of initiatives intended to address perceived problems with such ratings - enhancing...

On June 16, the SEC made public new rules intended to increase transparency and reduce conflicts of interest in the credit rating process for fixed-income instruments. The proposal may be most important for what it does not do: The SEC does not plan to forbid the quot;issuer-paysquot; system, in...

This paper summarizes and comments on the major provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, grouping the subjects covered as follows: (1) General Nature and Scope of the Bailout Program; (2) Procedures for Purchase and Sale of Assets; (3) Insurance Program; (4) Executive...

Mark-to-market (or fair value) accounting rules for financial assets came under sustained attack in 2008, with commentators blaming these rules for up to 70 percent of the financial crisis. The underlying argument was that reporting declining market values for assets would force sales of those...