Moody’s comments on Legg Mason’s CEO appointment
Moody’s stated that the appointment of Mark R. Fetting as the new President and CEO of Legg Mason, Inc. (senior unsecured debt at A2) is a good development for the firm. Moody’s Vice President/Senior Credit Officer Matthew Noll commented, “Mark Fetting has been a distinguished voice of the firm for many years.
Legg Mason is demonstrating the importance of having a deep bench of executive managers available to assume the CEO role — especially in these challenging times for the company.” Legg Mason’s highly regarded, outgoing CEO and co-founder, Raymond A. “Chip” Mason, will retain a role in the company as non-executive Chairman. Moody’s commented that while the creditability of Legg Mason has been hurt recently, in part due to a protracted CEO search process; overall, the firm is executing an orderly transition of a key man.
Moody’s changed Legg Mason’s rating outlook to negative from stable on December 14, 2007. The rating agency noted at that time that a successful transition of the CEO role, which will still take some time to be completed, was one of several points that would be drivers of returning the firm’s outlook to stable. Margin improvements, alleviation of the SIV risks in the firm’s Western Asset Management affiliate, and a strengthening of investment performance were other considerations in Moody’s outlook change. — www.theasianbanker.com (January 30 2008)–