Credit-rating agencies that also offer consulting and risk-management services are taking proper steps to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and should not face additional regulations, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday. The SEC posted a study online saying firms such as Moody's, McGraw Hill's Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings adequately manage potential conflicts through their existing policies and procedures. "At this time, the staff does not believe that it is warranted to recommend to the Commission changes to the rules" concerning credit-raters that also offer non-rating services, the study concluded. "The staff will continue to consider and monitor the potential conflicts of interest posed by the provision of ancillary services," it added. The SEC's study on credit-rating agencies' independence was one of many required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Its findings mark a bit of a victory for the credit-rating sector, which
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