Description
Book SynopsisTo the Brink of Destruction exposes how America''s rating agencies helped generate the global financial crisis of 2007 and beyond, surviving and thriving in the aftermath. Despite widespread scrutiny, rating agencies continued to operate on the same business model and wield extraordinary power, exerting extensive influence over public policy.
Timothy J. Sinclair brings the shadowy corners of this story to life by examining congressional testimony, showing how the wheels of accountability turnedand ultimately failedduring the crisis. He asks how and why the agencies risked their lucrative franchise by aligning so closely with a process of financial innovation that came undone during the crisis. What he finds is that key institutions, including the agencies, changed from being judges to being advocates years before the crisis, eliminating a vital safety valve meant to hinder financial excess.
Sinclair''s well-researched investigation offers a clear,
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Fixations: The Making and Unmaking of Categories
2. Rehearsal
3. Main Attraction
4. Intermission
5. Sideshow
6. Encore
7. Fictions: The Making and Unmaking of Boundaries
Epilogue
