Municipal Bond Rating Reform:
Protect Taxpayers, End the Double Standard
Welcome to the Fair Bond Ratings page. This site is devoted to helping issuers, investors and other market participants join the national campaign to reform the rating agencies' unfair system for grading bonds issued by governmental entities which provide essential services to the public. The system burdens taxpayers with unwarranted costs and misleads investors.
Action
Comments Submitted to Moody's on Global Scale Rating Proposal
Submitted Comments
- California's Comments
- Citi Comments
- De La Rosa & Co. Comments
- DEPFA First Albany Securities LLC Comments
- Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates Comments
- Government Finance Officers Association Comments
- Lamont Financial Services Comments
- Loop Capital Markets, LLC Comments
- Montague DeRose and Associates, LLC Comments
- Morgan Stanley Comments
- New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority Comments
- Ramirez & Company Comments
- Rice Financial Products Company Comments
- Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. Comments
- Stone & Youngberg Comments
- UBS Investment Bank Comments
Latest Developments
- Merrill Lynch Letter to Rating Agencies
- California Municipal Treasurers Association Letter to Rating Agencies
- California Statewide Communities Development Authority Letter to Rating Agencies
- League of California Cities Letter to Rating Agencies
- City of San Mateo Mayor Letter to Rating Agencies
- Municipal Market Advisors Response to Moody's Proposal for Global Scale Ratings for All Issuers
- Treasurer Lockyer’s Letter to California Pool Sent March 24, 2008
- Moody’s Request for Comment Ends April 15, 2008: Assignment of Global Ratings to Tax-Exempt Municipal Obligations
- Treasurer Lockyer's House Testimony
- Senator Shumer's Letter to Moody's
- Attorney General Blumenthal's House Testimony
- Superintendent of Insurance Dinallo's House Testimony
In the News
Articles
- Lockyer: NFMA Criticism of Rating Reform Advocates Is Off Base
Bond Buyer; May 12, 2008 - Municipal Credit Risk and the Value of Bond Insurance
Michael Schozer
Bond Buyer; May 12, 2008 - NFMA Panel: Insurer's Won't Go Extinct
Dakin Campbell
Bond Buyer; May 12, 2008 - Dissension at NFMA
Andrew Ackerman
Bond Buyer; May 12, 2008 - Muni analysts challenge ratings overhaul
Michael Connor
Reuters; May 8, 2008 - S&P 'Re-Benchmarks' Muni Credits, Stressing Management, Flexibility
Dakin Campbell
Bond Buyer; May 7, 2008 - UBS to Close Down Its Municipal Bond Dept.
Dakin Campbell
Bond Buyer; May 5, 2008 - S&P's Rate of Upgrades Accelerates in April
Dakin Campbell
Bond Buyer; May 7, 2008 - Berkshire's Bond Insurer, Moody's Stake Face Probe (Update4)
Erik Holm
Bloomberg.com; May 3, 2008 - Giving Muni Bonds their due
Josh Goodman
Governing Magazine; May, 2008
Opinion
- Lockyer tackles the bond game
Los Angeles Times; April 7, 2008 - Bill Lockyer: Government bonds deserve same ratings as business
The Sacramento Bee; April 6, 2008 - Rethinking state bond ratings
Los Angeles Times; March 11, 2008