At midnight on Sunday, portions of the sweeping US equity research settlement, put in place with great fanfare after the conflict scandals of the dotcom bubble, expire. Some would argue the multi-hundred million dollar settlement was a success: equity research analysts do not feature in the rogues gallery blamed for the current crisis. Others would argue it was a failure: the analysts’ absence in the downturn generally extended to their absence in warning of the downturn.

Either way, there are clear lessons from the settlement that regulators and the industry should apply now – particularly concerning how ratings agencies are treated.