U.S. seeks more than $5 billion in suit against S&P: attorney general

The U.S. government is seeking more than $5 billion in a lawsuit against rating agency Standard & Poor's over mortgage bond ratings, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday.

The civil suit against S&P and its parent McGraw-Hill Cos Inc is the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged illegal behavior related to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis.

(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha and Emily Stephenson; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)