There’s definitely an unholy relationship between banks, rating agencies, and regulators. Just like Art appraisers, agreeable ones eat a lot better than skeptical ones.
But it also reminds me of the joke: if the Pope tells you he believes in God that just means he’s doing his job. If he tells you he’s beginning to have doubts, maybe he’s onto something.
In US Law (Hearsay doctrine) that's called "admission against interest". Demonstrably self-harming statements are presumed to be honest. (The ways this can be abused by liars are interesting. Example: a parent confessing to a crime their child committed.)
I just realized it’s really easy to upvote a comment accidentally while scrolling on my phone with my left thumb (I’m a lefty). But what the heck, I like that joke.
You should have been here before the "unvote/undown" links (which, BTW, might be what you're looking for: it's on the same line as the comment header). "Apologies for the downvote, on mobile", "why isn't there undo for votes?", etc. A lot like discussions when a paywalled article comes up. :-)
But it also reminds me of the joke: if the Pope tells you he believes in God that just means he’s doing his job. If he tells you he’s beginning to have doubts, maybe he’s onto something.