Appeared on July 16, 2007
A growing chorus of critics say raters were irresponsible in giving their stamp of approval to bonds that should have been rated much lower. “This is like selling liquor to a minor without carding them, or selling a hand gun and saying they’re not being used to kill people,” said Joseph Mason, an associate professor of finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “They are selling these ratings, and the label says don’t use it for investment purposes. That’s clearly not the case.”