Moody's Investors Service announced today that it has published an
updated Code of Professional Conduct ("MIS Code"). The MIS Code,
originally published in June 2005, implements the International
Organization of Securities Commissions' Code of Conduct Fundamentals
for Credit Rating Agencies ("IOSCO Code").
The changes to the MIS Code reflect the company's continuing
efforts to clarify and enhance its policies and processes for ensuring
the integrity, objectivity and transparency of its ratings processes,
consistent with the IOSCO Code principles. In particular, the
revisions reinforce the separation of the Moody's Investors Service
ratings business from other commercial activities of Moody's
Corporation, consistent with the business unit reorganization
announced by Moody's Corporation in August. The revised code also
reflects enhancements to the company's policy for separating its
rating analysts from fee discussions with rated issuers to avoid
conflicts of interest.
"The MIS Code provides important transparency in how Moody's
Investors Service manages potential conflicts of interest in the
ratings business," said Brian Clarkson, President and Chief Operating
Officer of Moody's Investors Service. "We will continue to consider
additional measures to further demonstrate the independence of our
rating process."
The revised MIS Code can be found on the Regulatory Affairs page
of moodys.com.
Moody's Investors Service is a leading provider of credit ratings,
research, and risk analysis. Moody's commitment and expertise
contributes to stable, transparent and integrated financial markets,
protecting the integrity of credit. The firm's ratings and analysis
track debt covering more than 100 sovereign nations, 12,000 corporate
issuers, 29,000 public finance issuers, and 96,000 structured finance
obligations. Moody's also publishes credit opinions, research and
commentary, serving more than 9,300 customer accounts at some 2,400
institutions around the globe. Moody's Investors Service is a
subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO), which reported revenue
of $2.0 billion in 2006, employs approximately 3,600 people worldwide
and maintains a presence in 27 countries. Additional information about
the company is available at www.moodys.com.
