I'd imagine that the managers of S&P and Moody's are looking for waivers of liability in exchange for maintaining (undeserved) optimistic ratings. But, even if the clean up is orderly, their reputations of independence and impartiality will be damaged by such an episode.

I haver no idea how this will play out, but the whole ratings industry will come out of this crisis completely different to what it was before - and so will the investment world.

Fascinating times...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes