Credit Rating Agencies Fined Nearly $50 Million for ‘Recordkeeping Failures’

Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings are set to pay $20 million each in civil penalties.
Credit Rating Agencies Fined Nearly $50 Million for ‘Recordkeeping Failures’
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington on Sept. 18, 2008. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged six credit rating agencies with “significant recordkeeping failures” and imposed almost $50 million in fines.

The Securities Exchange Act requires credit rating agencies to retain all internal and external communications received and sent by the agencies, and by their employees, that are related to rating activities. The SEC found that the firms violated these recordkeeping provisions, according to a Sept. 3 statement.