Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law Volume 16 Issue 1 Book 1 Article 4 2011 The Collapse Of An Empire? Rating Agency Reform In The Wake Of The 2007 Financial Crisis Elizabeth Devine Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/jcfl Part of the Business Organizations Law Commons, and the Securities Law Commons Recommended Citation Elizabeth Devine, The Collapse Of An Empire? Rating Agency Reform In The Wake Of The 2007 Financial Crisis, 16 Fordham J. Corp. & Fin. L. 177 (2011). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/jcfl/vol16/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law by an authorized editor of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE COLLAPSE OF AN EMPIRE? RATING AGENCY REFORM IN THE WAKE OF THE 2007 FINANCIAL CRISIS Elizabeth Devine* “There are two superpowers in the world today in my opinion. There’s the United States and there’s Moody’s bond rating service. The United States can destroy you by dropping bombs, and Moody’s can destroy you by downgrading your bonds. And believe me, it’s not clear sometimes who’s more powerful.” —Thomas Friedman1 INTRODUCTION In 1996, Thomas Friedman’s remarks echoed the sentiments of many. The rating agency business was booming, and it seemed like the agencies themselves could do no wrong. Because nearly every financial business was limited in some way by credit ratings,2 a rating agency became the most powerful player in many business transactions.