Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services is nearing a settlement with regulators over their investigation of how the company graded real-estate bonds, which could result in at least a $60 million fine and suspension from certain deals, per The Wall Street Journal.
According to the article, the deal involves six commercial real-estate bond ratings from 2011. The joint settlement would be with the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Talks are fluid, but the pact under discussion involves a suspension of S&P, for several months or possibly a year, from rating some deals, the people said. However, the suspension would be narrowly focused on what are known as “conduit” deals, which pool mortgages secured by commercial properties. The New York-based company already has seen its once-dominant position in that sector diminish.