Standard & Poor’s says that Enron Corp.’s deceptions would have had a significant impact on its credit ratings, had the rating agencies had all the facts.

“Day by day, it becomes ever clearer that Enron, far from providing anything like complete, timely and reliable information to Standard & Poor’s, committed multiple acts of deceit and fraud on Standard & Poor’s, just as it did to many others,” said Ronald Barone, S&P’s managing director before a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.

“On a number of occasions Enron made what we later learned were direct and deliberate misrepresentations to Standard & Poor’s, relating to matters of great substance,” Barone said. S&P requested a full description of Enron’s special purpose vehicle activity. He says that these presentations failed to mention many partnerships, and Standard & Poor’s requests for updates and further clarification of this information were not met in any meaningful way.

“Had Enron told the truth about its financial condition during the ratings process, the impact on Enron’s rating would have been significant,” Barone said.

“At the heart of the process that leads to a rating … is an unambiguous understanding between the company seeking the rating and Standard & Poor’s: The company is obliged to furnish complete, timely and reliable information to Standard & Poor’s … and we, in turn, use that and otherinformation we gather to assess creditworthiness,” said Barone. “But Enron did not keep — it did not begin to keep — its part of the well understood bargain.”

He noted that Standard & Poor’s has long been an advocate for the highest standards of corporate transparency around the world. ” We have supported, and will continue to support, any regulatory efforts aimed at enhancing these goals,” Barone concluded.