Anyone who’s been waiting for a little comeuppance among the people who helped tank our economy in 2008, here’s
a little satisfaction: the credit rating firm Standard & Poor will be paying out $1.5 billion to settle multiple lawsuits alleging the company overrated certain securities to get more business.
Under the deal, S&P did not admit to any violations of law, but it did sign a statement of facts acknowledging that its executives in 2005 delayed implementing new models that produced more negative ratings.
Authorities said the payout from S&P exceeds the company’s profits earned for rating mortgage-backed securities from 2002-2007.
Just to add a little more context to how significant the penalty is, S&P’s parent company, McGraw Hill, reported a profit of $812 million in 2013.