If you look at any of the agencies reports, they always say that their rating should NEVER be considered as an advice to buy or cell any specific securities. They are just opinions. So, who is to blame, the agencies that gave an opinion about some bonds, or the greedy bankers who were buying bonds that were paying high interest rates knowing that they are risky??? Don't they have their own analysis teams to decide what to buy? Plus the agencies actually don't have any means to conduct an analysis of the credit worthness of the individual morgage owners, they have to rely solely on the data provided by the originators.
In any case this is insane: Its as if you decide to chop off your leg because your finger hurts. Crazy........

AK, London, UK

What happens to people who they gave mortgages to when the lender goes bust. Do they reposses the homes? Clearly the rating agencies were not doing a proper job in their investigations. The only interest is making money.

l butt, Limassol, Cyprus

The ratings agencies deserve some blame but the greed of the banks should not be ameliorated by this accusation and buck passing. The banks knew exactlly what they were doing all along. It doesn't take a finance degree to know that capability of those of low incomes to finance a large loan looks at odds with reality. The whole process sucked from start to finish pension funds should question their own feasibility analysis techniques.
Thsi si a problem designed by the banks for their own profitability and they and their shareholders must be held solely responsible.
Derivitives have their use but when arrogance supercedes reality there is only one end game, and that is the mess now befalling us all.
UBS set the marker of doing the right thing and should be applauded. It is for the other main banks involved in this fiasco to remove the directors in charge with immediate effect, and if necessary to remove the regulators for allowing such products to be sold.

Robert Marshall, London, UK