Justice Department files suit against S&P
As officials from Standard and Poor's are on island to meet with autonomous agencies of the government of Guam, in the mainland the ratings giant is being taken to court by the Justice Department.
By KUAM NewsGuam - As officials from Standard and Poor's are on island to meet with autonomous agencies of the government of Guam, in the mainland the ratings giant is being taken to court by the Justice Department. According to the Wall Street Journal, the feds are accusing S&P of not following its own standards to rate mortgage bonds that imploded in the financial crisis and cost investors billions. The civil charges were filed by U.S. Attorney Eric Holder. The Wall Street Journal reports several state attorneys general are likely to join. As for S&P they deny any wrongdoing and believes they are being unfairly punished.
As we reported S&P representatives are on island. Today they are meeting with the Guam International Airport Authority. GIAA is looking at the possibility of refinancing $150 million in bonds that could equate to $50 million for capital improvement projects. The other option is to utilize lower interest rates to save about $2 million in debt service. On Friday S&P is scheduled to meet with the Guam Power Authority and the Guam Waterworks Authority.