Eight Wall Street firms probed on ratings data

New York authorities are conducting an investigation into whether eight Wall Street leading banks misled the credit rating agencies, media reported Friday.

The banks that the probe involves are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup, UBS, Credit Agricole and Merrill Lynch, which has since been acquired by Bank of America, said a person familiar with the matter.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed the eight banks Wednesday to determine whether they had deceived rating agencies into minimizing the securities' risks for investors, said the person.

The rating agencies also are subjects of a Connecticut attorney general's suit accusing them of misleading investors and of federal inquiries into whether they engaged in deceptive practices.

Source:Xinhua