Marsh Suspends Execs
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service, Oct. 21, 5:09 p.m. EDT?Marsh has reportedly suspended at least four executives in the wake of a civil suit by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accusing the company of price fixing and bid rigging in exchange for insurers' payoffs.[@@]
The Wall Street Journal said the firm has suspended William Gilman, executive director of marketing at Marsh Global Broking, and a managing director; his daughter Samantha; Greg Doherty, a senior vice president in Marsh Global Broking's excess casualty division; and Edward McNenney, a brokerage executive.
Other reports, including the New York Times and Bloomberg, indicate that five executives were suspended.
Requests for comment from Barbara Perlmutter, senior vice president for public affairs for New York-based Marsh & McLennan Companies, were not returned. The company has not released any additional information on the subject.
Calls made to the named parties were not returned. In fact, a message on Mr. Doherty's voice mail referenced Oct. 12 as the day he recorded the message.
In ratings action, Standard & Poor's lowered its counterparty credit rating on MMC to "BBB (plus)/A-2″ from "A (plus)/A-1." The company remains on rating watch with negative implications. The rating agency said it took the action in light of the Attorney General's suit.
MMC's stock continued its nose dive, closing off 7 cents at $24.85.
S&P also announced today that it lowered Aon's counterparty credit rating to "BBB (plus)/A-2″ from "A (minus)/A-2″ and its preferred stock rating to BBB (minus) from "BBB."
Both Aon and Willis were placed on credit watch with negative implications, but no rating action was taken against Willis by S&P.
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