Oito bancos investigados / Eight banks investigated

Oito bancos de Wall Street estão sendo investigados por enganar agências de classificação de risco para inflar as classificações de aplicações lastreadas em hipotecas.

O procurador-geral de Nova York está investigando se oito bancos se envolveram na prática.

O procurador-geral de Nova York, Andrew Cuomo, enviou intimações aos oito bancos na noite passada, segundo o New York Times. O documento nomeou o Citigroup, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, deutsche bank, Goldman Sachs, Merril Lynch – hoje controlado pelo Bank of America –Morgan Stanley e, claro, o UBS, como os bancos sob seu escrutínio.

As empreas que classificaram os negócios de hipotecas são a Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings e a Moody's Investors Service. As agências ficaram sob fogo cerrado por exagerar na classificação de qualidade de investimentos lastreados em hipotecas que mais tarde sucumbiram na onda de colapso do setor imobiliário, ajudando a intensificar a crise financeira.

Eight Wall Street banks are being investigated over misleading ratings agencies to inflate the grades of mortgage securities.

The New York attorney general is investigating whether eight Wall Street banks misled ratings agencies to inflate the grades of certain mortgage securities.

The attorney general of New York, Andrew Cuomo, sent subpoenas to eight banks last night, according to the New York Times. The paper named Citigroup, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch – now owned by Bank of America – Morgan Stanley and UBS as the banks under scrutiny.

The companies that rated the mortgage deals are Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service. The agencies have come under fire for overstating the quality of mortgage securities that later slumped in the wake of the housing collapse, helping to trigger the financial crisis.