Is this a hit piece on smaller ratings agencies? For example, the only charts on the page show how smaller agencies give higher grades on average. What does th

Is this a hit piece on smaller ratings agencies? For example, the only charts on the page show how smaller agencies give higher grades on average. What does this have to do with risky asset vehicles exploding in popularity? Not much. There are many obvious explanations to this that the article doesn't even mention. Like how a slightly lower rating from a bigger agency may still carry more weight, skewing ratings higher the smaller the agency. The article mentions several times that additional ratings agency competition has made things worse. And that doesn't make any sense, investors now have the ability to choose who they believe. The bond inflation part of the article is believable, but the focus on comparing agencies to eachother is suspect to say the least