The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda for its Credit Ratings Roundtable, which will be held at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 14.

The roundtable, which was previously announced, will consist of three panels, with panelists to be named later. The first panel will discuss the potential creation of a credit rating assignment system for asset-backed securities. The second panel will discuss the effectiveness of the SEC’s current system to encourage unsolicited ratings of asset-backed securities. The third panel will discuss other alternatives to the current issuer-pay business model in which the issuer selects and pays the firm it wants to provide credit ratings for its securities.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. and is open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The event also will be webcast live on the SEC’s website and will be archived for later viewing.

Members of the public may submit comments electronically or on paper.  Please submit comments using one method only.  Information that is submitted will become part of the public record of the roundtable.

Electronic submissions:

Use the SEC’s Internet submission form or send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov.

Paper submissions:

Send paper submissions in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number 4-661, and the file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used.