Warren Buffett yesterday defended credit rating agencies for their flawed assessment of the US housing market but suggested their ratings could be shaken again by a looming municipal debt crisis.
The billionaire investor, whose Berkshire Hathaway vehicle is the largest shareholder in Moody's, the ratings agency, had refused to appear at a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearing until he was issued with a subpoena. Mr Buffett stood in front of the panel alongside Ray McDaniel, the chief executive of Moody's, as both men raised their right hands and swore to tell the truth.
