TEXT-S&P report:US asset gatherer rtgs have held firm under DFA

July 13 - U.S. banks have thus far borne the brunt of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's impact, while its effects on asset gatherers have been more moderate, said an article published today by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, titled "Dodd-Frank Hasn't Hurt U.S. Asset Gatherers' Credit Quality, But It's Still Early On."

"We have not taken any rating actions on asset gatherers as a result of Dodd-Frank--which contains some of the widest-reaching financial regulatory reforms in U.S. history--because nothing enacted, so far, has significantly affected the credit quality of any of the firms we rate," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Charles Rauch. "That said, we believe Dodd-Frank could, when fully implemented, have ratings implications for U.S. exchanges and clearinghouses."

"Although the final language of the regulations and their implementation may cause unforeseen issues for some companies, we don't expect Dodd-Frank to have rating implications for the other asset gathering sectors, which include independent brokers, traditional and alternative asset managers, and payment processors," said Mr. Rauch.