Smeeta Ramarathnam Named Deputy Director in the Office of Credit Ratings

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Smeeta Ramarathnam has been named Deputy Director in the Office of Credit Ratings.  She begins her new role later this month.

In this new position for the office, Ms. Ramarathnam will provide leadership and direction for various office activities including examinations and monitoring of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), rulemaking, and related initiatives.  Ms. Ramarathnam joins the office after serving for the past seven years as Chief of Staff for Commissioner Luis Aguilar.

“Smeeta brings considerable securities and regulatory experience that will serve the office well,” said Thomas Butler, Director of the Office of Credit Ratings.  “I am confident that the office will benefit from her thorough understanding of legal and policy issues, her knowledge of the ratings industry, and her attention to the needs of investors.”

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC established the Office of Credit Ratings to enhance the regulation, accountability, and transparency of NRSROs.  The office, staffed with examiners, attorneys, and accountants, examines each NRSRO at least annually and issues annual reports summarizing the essential findings of the examinations.

“I am honored to take on this new role,” Ms. Ramarathnam said.  “I have deep respect for my colleagues in the Office of Credit Ratings and throughout the Commission.  I look forward to working alongside them to advance the agency’s mission.” 

Ms. Ramarathnam joined the SEC in 2005 and before her appointment to Commissioner Aguilar’s staff in 2008, she served as counsel to Commissioner Roel Campos and as a senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel and in the Division of Investment Management.  Prior to that, she was an associate at a law firm and focused on investment company and investment adviser regulation and securities litigation. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Deborah Chasanow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Ms. Ramarathnam received her B.A. with honors from Stanford University and her J.D. degree from Stanford Law School and is the immediate past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area.