CCH Issues New White Paper: SEC Credit Rating Reforms Differentiate Asset-Backed Securities Products

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., February 6, 2009) – The reform of credit rating agencies is a central component of the overall reform of financial regulation. Credit rating agencies are now seen as having contributed to the current financial crisis when investors lost faith in agencies’ findings following large write-downs of highly-rated mortgage-backed securities.

CCH Principal Securities Law Analyst Jim Hamilton, JD, has authored a new White Paper analyzing the latest SEC rulemaking for this important segment of the securities industry, SEC Credit Rating Reforms Differentiate Asset-Backed Securities Products. CCH is part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a leading provider of research information and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals (business.cch.com).

Hamilton details the new requirements for enhanced disclosure of credit ratings performance measurement statistics; increased disclosure of information about the assets underlying structured finance products; requirements for more information about the procedures and methodologies used to determine structured finance ratings; and rules regarding conflicts of interest arising from the structured finance rating process.

Hamilton is a prolific blogger on current issues in the securities field. Jim Hamilton’s World of Securities Regulation can be found at http://jimhamiltonblog.blogspot.com/.

About Wolters Kluwer Law & Business

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.

Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services globally for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2007) of €3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), maintains operations in over 33 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific and employs approximately 19,500 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.

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EDITORS’ NOTE: CCH analysts are available to discuss tax, banking and securities aspects of the financial rescue plan. Please contact: Neil Allen (847-267-2179 or neil.allen@wolterskluwer.com); or Brenda Au (847-267-2046 or brenda.au@wolterskluwer.com).

To access CCH resources on the plan, please visit cch.com/rescue. This site will be updated with new information, including briefings and white papers, on an ongoing basis.

This White Paper is also available on the CCH Financial Crisis News Center, a one-stop, online resource for tracking legal and financial developments related to the ongoing financial crisis. Click on the “CCH Subscriber Resources” tab.