Articles by Karey Wutkowski

SEC Tightens Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies

Credit agencies will have to disclose more of their ratings history, and creators of financial products will have to share data with all credit raters, under rules adopted by U.S. regulators Thursday. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved those …

Congress Gives U.S. Official 3 Weeks to Revise Mark-to-Market Accounting

Lawmakers told the top U.S. accounting rulemaker to deliver new guidance on mark-to-market accounting within three weeks, or face legislation changing the rule that has forced banks to write down billions of dollars in assets. Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman …

Senators Demand Details, Officials Admit Regulatory Gaps on AIG

U.S. regulators failed to spot how much risk insurer AIG was piling on, and by the time they understood, they had no choice but to pour in tens of billions of public dollars, officials said Thursday. At a Senate Banking …

U.S. Federal Reserve Won’t Name Firms Helped By AIG Bailout

The U.S. Federal Reserve refused to identify trading partners benefiting from a $180-billion taxpayer bailout of American International Group as one lawmaker said Europe’s financial stability was at stake in the rescue of the insurer. The identity of those being …

FDIC Could Become Federal Insurance Regulator, Says Chief

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s powers could be expanded if Congress decides to shift insurance companies from state regulation to federal regulation, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said Wednesday. Bair said the FDIC could start providing guarantees for insurance companies, much …

Lawmakers Blast Rating Agencies for Role in Financial Crisis

The top executive of Moody’s warned his board in 2007 that the quality of credit ratings was in danger due to trends that could “place the entire financial system at risk.” The confidential briefing was among documents obtained by congressional …

Top U.S. Lawmaker, Ex-SEC Chief Blast Lax Regulators

The Securities and Exchange Commission should get more power to police credit derivatives even though it failed to use its existing authority to rein in risky behavior that contributed to a global financial crisis, a former SEC chief told Congress …

Financial Regulation Reform — But Not Paulson’s — Likely in 2009

Efforts to overhaul U.S. financial regulation are seen gathering pace early next year, as a new Congress and administration seek to safeguard public money put at risk by recent rescue measures. The Federal Reserve’s extension of emergency credit to investment …

U.S. Lawmakers Question Regulators on Vehicle Roof Strength Rules

U.S. auto safety regulators Wednesday told lawmakers they need more time to develop a tougher standard for vehicle roofs to ensure that adding more weight and headroom would not cause more vehicles to roll over. Some regulators, lawmakers, and safety …

SEC Official Says More Subprime Fraud Could Surface

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s top enforcement official said Wednesday that it’s still too early to tell whether the current market turmoil involves widespread securities violations or simply bad business decisions. SEC enforcement director Linda Thomsen also said more …