Jules Kroll, a former private investigator who started abond-rating company after the financial crisis, said the largestcredit-rating firms are again putting profits ahead of accuracyamid record demand for corporate debt.

“They're selling themselves out just as they did before,” thechief executive officer of Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc. said todayat a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable inWashington. “If you want to see the next tsunami, wait for theoutcome in high yield and watch what washes up on shore.”

Companies are issuing speculative-grade bonds at a record paceeven as yields on the debt have fallen to unprecedented lows withthe Federal Reserve holding its benchmark interest rate near zerofor a fifth year. Douglas Peterson, president of Standard &Poor's Ratings Services, declined to comment on whether the marketis in a “bubble.” Prices reflect excess liquidity, he said inresponse to a question from SEC Commissioner Daniel M.Gallagher.