WASHINGTON, September 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- S&P EVP Vickie Tillman Addresses S&P's Ratings and Their Role in
Capital Markets, Strong Track Record of Ratings Opinions, and Commitment to
Transparency and the Continuous Enhancement of its Processes

- Tillman Also Will Testify Tomorrow at House Subcommittee on Capital
Markets

In testimony today before the United States Senate Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs, Vickie A. Tillman, Executive Vice President of
Credit Market Services for Standard & Poor's Ratings Services ("S&P"),
focused on the role of S&P's ratings in the capital markets, S&P's strong
track record of assessing creditworthiness, and the steps it is taking to
ensure transparency and the continued enhancement of its analytics and
processes. Ms. Tillman also addressed common misconceptions regarding S&P's
role in the subprime market.

In her testimony, Ms. Tillman stated that, "It is important to clarify 
the role of rating agencies such as S&P in the financial markets, the rigor 
S&P applies in fulfilling that role, and our overall record of delivering
unbiased opinions on creditworthiness."

She also noted that, "Our reputation is our business, and when it comes
into question we listen, learn, and improve ... We have learned hard lessons
from the recent difficulties in the subprime mortgage area ... we are taking
steps to ensure that our ratings, and the assumptions that underlie them, are
analytically sound in light of shifting circumstances."

She also reiterated S&P's " ... commitment to do all that we can to make
our analytics the best in the world ... " and to working with the Committee
as it "explores developments affecting the subprime market."

The following are additional highlights from Ms. Tillman's testimony.

The Role of Rating Agencies

Credit ratings are " ... not a promise of performance but an evaluation
of the risk of default ... Credit ratings speak to one topic and one topic
only - the likelihood that rated securities will default. When we rate
securities, we are not saying that they are 'guaranteed' to repay but the
opposite: that some of them will likely default."

"S&P has been rating RMBS for thirty years and has developed
industry-leading processes and models for evaluating the creditworthiness of
these transactions. As a result, S&P has an excellent track record of
assessing RMBS credit quality ... Over that [30-year] period the percentage
of defaults of transactions rated by us as 'AAA' is four one-hundredths of
one percent. Even our lowest investment grade rating, 'BBB', has a historical
default rate of only slightly over one percent."

Efforts to Improve Performance and Ensure Transparency

"We continue to work to enhance our analytics and processes by:
tightening our criteria and increasing the frequency of our reviews;
modifying our analytical models; completing a recent acquisition that will
help further enhance our analytics; and analyzing areas in which we can do
more, such as ways to enhance the quantity and quality of data available to
us."

"At S&P, our policies and procedures include the fact that analysts are
neither compensated based upon the number of deals they rate nor are they
involved in negotiating fees. These controls and others are set forth in our
Code of Conduct, modeled on the IOSCO Code. Every employee receives training
on this Code and must attest to compliance with it."

"That S&P refuses to put revenue ahead of analytical rigor is further
demonstrated by the fact that we have refused to rate whole categories of
transactions that do not meet our criteria."

Common Misconceptions Regarding Actions Taken and Business Model

"S&P has spoken out - and taken action - early and often on subprime
issues ... We have also taken action, including downgrading RMBS transactions
more quickly than ever before and updating our analysis to reflect increased
risk."

"We also take affirmative steps to guard against conflicts of interest
that may arise out of the fact that we - like almost every other major rating
agency - use an 'issuer-pays' model. As the Committee knows, this issue was
thoroughly debated by Congress during consideration of the 2006 Act."

"The issuer-pays model helps bring greater transparency to the market as
it allows all investors to have real-time access to our ratings. Unlike under
a subscription model, the issuer-pays model allows for broad market scrutiny
of our ratings every day."

To view a copy of Ms. Tillman's testimony, visit
http://www.standardandpoors.com and click on "S&P's Views on Subprime and
Related Mortgage Markets."

Ms. Tillman also will testify on September 27, 2007 before the U.S. House
of Representatives' Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and
Government Sponsored Enterprises. The hearing will commence at 2:00 p.m. in
Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP),
is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including
independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and
data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates,
located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the
world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than
140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to
feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more
information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.

Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com