NEW YORK – November 23, 2009 – Standard & Poor's Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS), an analytics and research unit separate from S&P’s ratings business, and Experian®, the global information services company, today announced a strategic alliance to improve transparency in the securitized loan market. S&P and Experian Capital Markets will collaborate on integrating Experian’s extensive credit data and analytics with FIRMS securitized loan data and models, with a particular focus on the individual loans that are packaged in mortgage-backed securities.
The alliance will provide investors worldwide with more detailed information on the underlying loans in US mortgage-backed securities by combining Experian’s consumer credit data and analytics and S&P’s loan level data products. In the first step of the partnership Experian Capital Markets will connect consumer credit information and attributes to S&P’s US RMBS Edition loan level data feed product.
“Securitized loan investors need to be able to drill down to the foundation of each individual loan in their portfolios to gain a truly comprehensive picture of their risk exposures,” said David Goldstein, managing director, Fixed Income Risk Management Services, Standard & Poor’s. “Through our partnership with Experian, we will be able to provide investors with an amazing level of granularity on the fundamental risks in each loan and the ability to benchmark their portfolios against this data.”
“The goal of our collaboration is to provide investors with the transparency needed to value structured finance products and to make more informed buy and sell decisions,” said Ethan Klemperer, senior vice president and general manager, Experian Capital Markets. “Our partnership with Standard & Poor’s is a critical step in improving market efficiencies needed to restore liquidity and investor confidence.”
About Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services
Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services delivers a portfolio of products and services to investors that serve the global financial markets by providing market intelligence and analytic insight for risk driven investment analysis, including for the debt, structured finance, derivative and credit markets. Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services are performed separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor's. The unit has no access to non-public information received by other units of Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's does not trade on its own account.
About Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.
About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.
Experian and the marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact:
Michael Privitera
Standard & Poor’s Communications
1 212 438 6679 Telephone
michael_privitera@standardandpoors.com Email
Cynthia Baker
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 7907 Telephone
cynthia.baker@experian.com Email