S&P May Reach a $1 Billion Settlement With Department of Justice

Standard & Poor's is reportedly close to settling with the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly misleading investors about its ratings of mortgage bonds -- and could pay about $1 billion to do so. S&P, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial, and the Justice Department may agree to settle the case as soon as this quarter, according to Bloomberg, which cited a person familiar with the matter. The potentially $1 billion settlement would fall short of the $5 billion sought by the Justice Department when it filed in February 2013, alleging S&P inflated ratings for mortgage bonds in order to raise fees from issuers. S&P spokeswoman Catherine Mathis declined to comment on the reports.