Cuomo subpoenaes Goldman, Morgan Stanley, UBS and five others over securities

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and five other banks were subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over whether they misled rating agencies about mortgage-backed securities, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Cuomo is probing the relationships between the banks and the major agencies, which also were subpoenaed, said the person, who declined to be identified because the investigation is continuing.

The subpoenas were sent yesterday, the person said. State and federal regulators since at least 2008 have been looking into why Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings gave top grades to subprime-mortgage backed securities and collateralized debt obligations that later plummeted in value.

Subpoenas also went to Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc., Credit Agricole SA and Merrill Lynch & Co., which was acquired by Bank of America Corp., the person said.

In June 2008, after probing the role of the three ratings agencies in the subprime-mortgage crisis, Cuomo announced settlements that he said included a new fee structure designed to eliminate shopping by investment banks for ratings for residential mortgage-backed securities.

Moody fell 6.8 percent on May 10 after the company said it may face civil claims by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it filed false and misleading descriptions of its credit rating policies.

UBS received a subpoena from the New York attorney general and will comply, said Doug Morris, a spokesman.

Michael Duvally, a Goldman Sachs spokesman, and Morgan Stanley’s Mark Lake declined to comment.