Conn AG credit probe covers Berkshire Hathaway: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) is being examined as part of the Connecticut Attorney General's probe into conflicts of interest in the credit rating industry, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating how credit rating agencies grade the risk of municipal bonds. He has joined other state officials in calling for changes at a House of Representatives committee hearing.

Blumenthal told the FT that Berkshire's ownership of 19.5 percent of Moody's, which issued a top rating to Berkshire's new bond insurance business, "certainly creates an appearance of a conflict of interest".

Blumenthal said in the report that the examination was only "a slice" of the probe, adding: "We are not making any allegations, and we reached no conclusions. We are not challenging any of the specific ratings."

Blumenthal's office and Berkshire were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman, editing by Will Waterman)