Does this portend something big? The New York Times reports that credit ratings agencies are close to announcing a deal with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that would revamp some of their business practices. In particular, the deal might make changes to fee practices designed to make it harder for banks to play firms against one another to obtain a desired rating. We'll have to see how far-ranging this is. However, the news is intriguing for another reason: The deal likely will grant immunity to these firms in exchange for cooperation in the AG's wider probe of the subprime mess, the article reports. Already, Cuomo has garnered the cooperation of Clayton Holdings, which reviews loans for banks. All this suggests that we might yet see some sort of charges. It would not be surprising; just about all meltdowns or scandals lead to prosecutorial activity.   

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

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