SEC Announces Panelists for Credit Ratings Roundtable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2013-83

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2013 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the panelists for its Credit Ratings Roundtable, which will be held on May 14.

As previously announced, the roundtable will consist of three panels. The first panel will discuss the potential creation of a credit rating assignment system for asset-backed securities. The second panel will discuss the effectiveness of the SEC´s current system to encourage unsolicited ratings of asset-backed securities. The third panel will discuss other alternatives to the current issuer-pay business model in which the issuer selects and pays the firm it wants to provide credit ratings for its securities.

The event will be held in the auditorium at the SEC´s Washington, D.C., headquarters at 100 F Street, N.E., beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at approximately 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The event will be webcast live on the SEC´s website and archived for later viewing.

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Agenda and Panelists

9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks
10:00 a.m. Panel 1: Credit Rating Assignment System
  • Arthur Bolden - Analyst
  • Stephen Hall - Securities Specialist at Better Markets Inc.
  • Sanjeev Handa - Managing Director at TIAA-CREF
  • Martin Hughes - CEO at Redwood Trust Inc.
  • Reginald Imamura – Chairman at Structured Finance Industry Group
  • Jules Kroll - Chairman and CEO at Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc.
  • Douglas Peterson – President at Standard and Poor´s Ratings Services
  • David Raboy - Chief Economic Consultant at Patton Boggs LLP
  • Kermit Roosevelt - Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania Law School
12:00 p.m. Break
1:30 p.m. Panel 2: Rule 17g-5 Program (Unsolicited Ratings)
  • Tom Deutsch - Executive Director at American Securitization Forum
  • Kevin Duignan - Managing Director at Fitch Ratings
  • Stephen Ehrenberg - Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
  • Joseph Petro - Managing Director at Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC
  • John Schiavetta - Senior Vice President, Director of Risk Management-Fixed Income at AllianceBernstein
  • Julie Schlueter - Manager, Capital Markets at CNH Global N.V.
  • Martin Schuh - Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Policy at Commercial Real Estate Finance Council
  • Lawrence White - Professor of Economics at New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business
2:30 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. Panel 3: Alternative Compensation Models
  • Neil Baron - Consultant
  • Félix Flinterman - Head of Credit Rating Agency Unit at European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
  • James Gellert - Chairman and CEO at Rapid Ratings International Inc.
  • Annette Heuser - Executive Director at Bertelsmann Foundation
  • Marc Joffe – Founder at Public Sector Credit Solutions
  • Christopher Killian - Managing Director at Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
  • Alberto Ramos - Chairman and CEO at HR Ratings de México
  • Mitchell Resnick - Vice President of Pricing, Costing and Capital Deployment at Freddie Mac
  • Farisa Zarin – Managing Director, Global Regulatory Affairs at Moody´s Investors Service Inc.
4:15 p.m. Closing Remarks
4:30 p.m. Roundtable concludes