SEC finds credit raters had conflicts of interest

Not much point in a rating agency when they can't identify substantial financial risk. We learned the same thing about research departments of stock brokerage firms--these ratings and analyses are sales tools, let the small investor beware.

A company, whose sole purpose in life is analyzing securities for risk, and practical value, couldn't see the conflict of interest in what they were doing. They would have had to be either blind, or have an ulterior motive, money!(I vote money)

Rating agencies are no different, and no less culpable for the mortgage crisis. When money is flowing, and the good times are in season, nobody cares about integrity. Banks, mortgage companies, bond insurers, mortgage insurers, and the like all are crying, when it was they who enabled this entire mess.

Sure, morons, who had no business buying homes for $500K,$750K,$1M, or more, helped make this crisis happen. However, at the same time, if you don't want anyone in the family to eat cookies, don't put cookies in the house.

I would normally say, let the banks, investment firms, insurers, and the likes lose everything. However, given their incompetence is now placing at risk the very security of the US, I now have no choice but to eat my words, and hope we as a nation can bail out this stupidity.