Sept. 13, 2021 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGFile No. 3-20542 September 13, 2021- The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that credit ratings agency DBRS, Inc., which is registered with the Commission as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) and currently operates under the trade name DBRS Morningstar, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges relating to the rating of collateralized loan obligation combination notes (CLO Combo Notes). To ensure that investors who rely on credit ratings are provided meaningful and accurate information, the federal securities laws impose universal ratings symbol requirements to facilitate an analysis and comparison of credit ratings. One of those requirements mandates that NRSROs issue ratings that assess the likelihood that an issuer of a security may default or fail to make payments to investors in accordance with the terms of the security. The SEC’s order finds that DBRS’s policies and procedures were not reasonably designed to ensure that it rated CLO Combo Notes in accordance with the terms of those securities. While the CLO Combo Notes included a defined “Rated Balance” amount, noteholders were entitled to all cash flows from the underlying components of the CLO Combo Note, which could be greater than the Rated Balance. Credit ratings that DBRS issued to CLO Combo Notes considered the risk of default on the Rated Balance only, and not the risk of default on all amounts that the issuer was obligated to pay based on all of the cash flows from the underlying components. Consequently, DBRS’s credit ratings for CLO Combo Notes did not address the risk of default in payment of the proceeds in excess of the Rated Balance, even though holders of those notes were entitled to receive such amounts in accordance with the payment terms of those securities. The SEC’s order finds that DBRS violated Rule 17g-8(b)(1) of the Exchange Act. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, DBRS agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1 million, and to undertake to review, and revise as necessary, its internal policies and procedures relating to the violations. The investigation was conducted by Lawrence Renbaum, Melissa Lessenberry, and Armita Cohen of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit and supervised by Assistant Director Jeffrey Weiss. Trial counsel Thomas Bednar and James Connor of the Enforcement Division’s Trial Unit, and staff of the Office of Credit Ratings assisted with the investigation.