The issues reviewed in the Staff Report, as well as the study required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are consistent with recent Commission initiatives to review the role of rating agencies in the . securities markets and their regulatory treatment. 6 The Commission recognized that, in recent years, the importance of credit ratings to investors and other market participants had increased significantly, impacting an issuer’s access to and cost of capital, the structure of financial transactions, and the ability of fiduciaries and others to make particular investments. In light of this increased importance, the Commission had commenced a review.
