Legislation is moving forward that would more definitively exempt rating agencies from a liability that shut down securitized markets at one point last year, according to an industry trade group.
The House Financial Services Committee has approved the legislation introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the American Securitization Forum said.
Stivers’ legislation would restore Rule 436(g), which exempted rating agencies from “expert” liability when they rate securitized products until the Dodd-Frank Act repealed it.
The repeal of the rule last summer had frozen the securitized market temporarily until the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a temporary no-action letter exempting the rating agencies from the liability.
