Class Action Brought Against S&P and Moody’s in Illinois State Court

On July 3, First National Bank and Trust Company of Rochelle, Illinois (FNBR) filed a putative class action lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., Standard and Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) and Moody’s Corp. in Illinois state court.  FNBR alleges that the rating agencies knowingly or recklessly issued inflated RMBS ratings and failed to amend those ratings when the mortgages underlying the securities began to fail.  Plaintiff seeks to represent a class of all Illinois banks that purchased highly rated RMBS certificates between December 2007 and February 2008.  Plaintiff’s claims are for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deception Business Practices Act and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.  Complaint.