The Securities and Exchange Commission designates certain credit rating agencies as “nationally recognized statistical ratings organizations” (NRSROs). It has been argued that this designation inhibits competition and has effectively created a government-sponsored cartel. Currently only two firms—Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s—represent about eighty percent of sector revenue. In an effort...

The outlook for the future structure of the credit rating agency sector improved greatly when the House passed the "The Credit Rating Agency Duopoly Relief Act."