E-mails show high ratings were issued often on subprime mortgages

E-mails from credit rating agencies that were released to the government show analysts gave favorable ratings to subprime mortgages even though they were aware of the risks. "Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters," a Standard & Poor's analyst wrote in a December 2006 e-mail.

"This is frightening. It wreaks of greed, unregulated brokers, and 'not so prudent' lenders," said one S&P internal e-mail dated September 2006. And another from that same month: "...this is like another banking crisis potentially looming!!"

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/23/news/economy/credit_rating_agencies_hearing/index.htm?postversion=2010042411