The federal banking agencies have agreed to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding alternatives to the use of credit ratings in their risk-based capital rules for banking organizations.
The advance notice is issued in response to section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted on July 21, 2010, which requires the agencies to review regulations that (1) require an assessment of the credit-worthiness of a security or money market instrument and (2) contain references to or requirements regarding credit ratings.
In addition, the agencies are required to remove such references and requirements and substitute in their place uniform standards of credit-worthiness, where feasible.
See press release for full details.