标普或因CPDO评级面临集体诉讼

Standard & Poor’s faces the prospect of further legal action in the Australian courts over the rating of risky structured products after a litigation specialist said it would back a class action lawsuit.

由于其对高风险结构性产品给出的评级，标普(Standard & Poor’s)可能面临着澳大利亚法院进一步的法律行动。此前，澳大利亚一家专业诉讼服务公司表示将支持对标普发起集体诉讼。

IMF Australia, a Sydney-based company that provides funding for legal claims, said it had agreed to support a claim against S&P over the rating of constant proportion debt obligation notes (CPDOs) that were created and sold by the wholesale banking arm of ABN Amro in 2006.

IMF Australia表示，已同意出资，支持针对标普对“固定比例债务债券（Constant Proportion Debt Obligations，简称CPDO）产品评级提出的索赔诉讼。2006年，荷兰银行(ABN Amro)批发银行部门构建并出售了这种债券。IMF Australia总部位于悉尼，是一家为法律诉讼提供资金支持的公司。

The action relates to the same securities that a Federal Court judge on Monday described as “grotesquely complicated in a landmark ruling.

本周一，澳大利亚一名联邦法官在一次具有里程碑意义的裁决中，把CPDO描述为一种“复杂透顶的证券。

Justice Jayne Jagot found S&P had misled and dece0ived investors when it awarded its highest grade credit rating to CPDOs whose value collapsed in the run-up to the financial crisis.

法官杰恩·简葛特(Jayne Jagot)认为，标普对金融危机爆发前夕价值崩溃的CPDO给出AAA评级，是对投资者的误导和欺骗。

ABN’s wholesale banking arm, which is now owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, was also found to have engaged in conduct that was misleading and deceptive.

目前隶属苏格兰皇家银行(RBS)的荷兰银行批发银行部门也涉嫌参与了误导和欺骗行为。

Overnight in New York, shares in McGraw-Hill, the parent company of S&P, fell 4 per cent to US$52.24 on concerns that Monday’s ruling in Australia could pave the wave for other claims in New Zealand, Europe and the US.

一夜之间，标普母公司麦格劳希尔(McGraw-Hill)在纽交所的股价下挫4%，跌至52.24美元。投资者担心，本周一澳大利亚法院的裁决可能会为新西兰、欧洲、美国提起类似的索赔诉讼铺平道路。

S&P and ABN were sued by 12 local authorities in New South Wales that lost more than A$16m when they invested in the securities.

新南威尔士州(New South Wales)12家地方委员会对标普和荷兰银行提起了诉讼，并称他们投资这些证券的损失超过了1600万澳元。

The councils have been awarded A$30m of damages and costs after Justice Jagot concluded that “a reasonably competent rating agency would never have given the securities a triple-A rating.

法官杰恩·简葛特裁决，一家“合理胜任的评级机构不至于对这种证券产品给出AAA评级。这些委员会将得到3000万澳元的损失和费用补偿。

The case marked the first time a rating agency had stood a full trial over complex structured finance products. S&P has said it will appeal against the ruling and rejects suggestions that its “opinions were inappropriate.

这是信用评级机构因复杂结构性金融产品接受正式审理的第一例。标普表示将对判决提出上诉，并否认了法院关于标普“评级意见并不妥当的说法。

The latest action has been brought by another local authority in New South Wales on behalf of investors who also purchased the complex securities from ABN. In total, ABN sold about A$50m of this particular class of CPDO, also known as the Rembrandt Notes 2, to investors in Australia.

这一最新诉讼是新南威尔士州另外一家地方委员会代表从荷兰银行购买了CPDO的投资者提起的。荷兰银行总共向澳大利亚投资者出售了一种名为“Rembrandt Notes 2的特殊CPDO，总价值达5000万澳元。

Muswellbrook Shire, which is two-hour drive from Sydney and home to some of Australia’s biggest coal mines, said it was looking to recoup A$150,000 to A$300,000 of “interest forgone in part of its claim.

密士维布农村行政区(Muswellbrook Shire)表示，该区将在诉讼中提出补偿15万到30万澳元利息的要求。密士维布农村行政区距悉尼约两小时车程，是澳大利亚许多大型煤矿的所在地。

Mayor Martin Rush said no planned public works had to be cancelled as a result of its investment in the notes.

该区行政长官马丁·拉什(Martin Rush)表示，对这些债券的投资还没有导致任何已规划的公共项目被取消。

John Walker, executive director of IMF Australia, said he expected investors in New Zealand to launch a claim against S&P and ABN Amro in the near future.

IMF Australia首席执行官约翰·沃克(John Walker)表示，他预计不久后新西兰的投资者也将对标普和荷兰银行提起诉讼。

IMF Australia is also investigating action in Europe on behalf of banks and pension funds. The company estimates that CPDOs worth approximately €2bn were sold in the Netherlands by ABN and rated by S&P.

IMF Australia也代表银行和养老基金在欧洲开展调查行动。该公司估计，荷兰银行在荷兰销售的经标普评级的CPDO总额大约为20亿欧元。