On Tuesday, November 29, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency ("OCC") proposed a rule to remove references
to credit ratings from various OCC regulations and related guidance
to national banks and federal savings associations in meeting due
diligence requirements in assessing credit risk for portfolio
investments. The rule stems from Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Section 939A
requires federal agencies to review regulations that require the
use of an assessment of creditworthiness of a security or money
market instrument and any references to, or requirements, in those
regulations regarding credit ratings. Section 939A then requires
the federal agencies to modify the regulations identified during
the review to substitute any references to, or requirements of,
reliance on credit ratings with such standards of creditworthiness
that each agency determines to be appropriate.
Read the OCC press
release
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