Deven Sharma's decision to step down as president of beleaguered Standard & Poor's could easily be interpreted as a move by the board to appease its many critics and government investigators. But according to the New York Times, the decision was more complex and was set in motion even before the brouhaha over the company's downgrade of U.S. Treasury debt.

It's likely, however, that the move was encouraged by the McGraw Hill board, which surely was not blind to the crisis engulfing the company. The issues now fall to Citigroup executive Douglas Peterson, who will take over as president. The COO of Citibank will have a lot on his plate immediately, as he deals with newly invigorated investigations of mortgage rating practices and angry shareholders who are pushing for a breakup of the company.

Peterson will not have a honeymoon. He will be expected to act immediately. It's not entirely clear what he will be able to do. As a symbol of his good intentions, he should probably institute some reform of the government ratings unit. Not that it really is supremely shoddy, but that's the perception. The new president might see fit to institute some policies that better lay out the methodology and create a heightened sense of transparency, ending the black box approach that has been justifiably maligned.  

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