The ratings agency Standard and Poor's said that its president Mr Deven Sharma, who has become the public face of the firm in the wake of its historic downgrade on the United States' long term debt rating, will step down and leave the company by the end of 2011.

The decision by Mr Sharma to resign comes as the ratings agency is under pressure from several fronts, including an inquiry by the Justice Department into its ratings of subprime mortgage securities and a push by activist investors to break up its parent company McGraw Hill. Mr Sharma will be replaced by Mr Douglas Peterson, a top executive at Citigroup.

The management change had been in the works for months and was unrelated to either the Justice Department's inquiry or to the emergence of the activist investors, Jana Partners and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, according to people briefed on the matter.

Mr Peterson is currently the chief operating officer of Citibank, the banking unit of Citigroup.

Mr Harold McGraw III CEO of McGraw Hill said in a statement that "We are pleased to welcome Doug to the important role of president of Standard & Poor's as it continues to build on the enhancements of recent years and accelerates global growth."

One of the most recognized names in finance, Standard & Poor's is composed of two separate businesses. One is its credit rating agency, a vital cog in global capitalism that monitors the corporate world's debt issuances. The other is a unit that manages its index products like the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index.

The ratings agency's decision arm to downgrade the United States' long term credit rating to AA+ from AAA on August 5th 2011 set off a storm of controversy, including criticism by President Mr Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Mr Timothy F Geithner. The decision contributed heavily to the worst drop in US stocks since the financial crisis three years ago, as well as volatility that continues to whipsaw the markets weeks later. The other ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch, have maintained their top tier rating on US debt.

At the same time, S&P is being investigated over whether it improperly rated mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, people briefed on the matter have previously said. That inquiry, which began before Standard & Poor's downgrade of US debt, is centered on whether analysts' decisions to assign securities a low credit rating on subprime mortgage loans were overruled by business managers.

Meanwhile, two activist investors pushing for change at McGraw Hill have recommended that Standard & Poor's ratings business appoint a well known independent oversight figure to handle government relations.

But people briefed on the matter said Sharma had been considering stepping down well before the latest firestorm of attacks on the company. They say that Sharma first began pondering his options after McGraw Hill announced in November that Standard & Poor's would be split into its two component businesses.

(Sourced from www.nytimes.com)