Attorney general: Pa. getting $21.5M under S&P settlement
HARRISBURG (AP) – Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane says the state will receive $21.5 million under a settlement between Standard & Poors and the federal government, 19 states and the District of Columbia.
The $1.38 billion settlement announced Tuesday is intended to settle government allegations that S&P knowingly inflated ratings of risky mortgage investments from 2004 through 2007, helping trigger the financial crisis.
Kane says the bulk of Pennsylvania’s cut will be allocated to state agencies that purchased securities backed by flimsy residential mortgages. They include the state, municipal and school employees’ pension systems and the Turnpike Commission.
Plaintiffs argued Standard & Poor’s allowed its credit ratings to be influenced by its own financial interests. The McGraw Hill Financial subsidiary says it kept issuing positive ratings despite concerns that the investments were troubled.