S&P fined $1.38b form is leading ratings

Company admits to unjustified assessments that helped trigger global financial crisis

Standard & Poor's is paying about $1.38 billion to settle government allegations that it knowingly inflated its ratings of risky mortgage investments that helped trigger the financial crisis, the US Justice Department announced on Tuesday.

The settlement with the US government, 19 states and the District of Columbia covers ratings issued from 2004 through 2007 by the McGraw-Hill subsidiary. It resolves a court fight that began with a government lawsuit two years ago and involved dozens of depositions and hundreds of millions of documents.