Icap plc, the world's leading interdealer broker and provider of post trade and information services, announces today that it has launched a joint credit derivatives rating service with Rapid Ratings, an alternative rating, research and analytics firm.
The new product brings together two independent sources of market-leading information to deliver a unique and innovative view of the credit derivatives market.
The new pricing service combines pricing data sourced from ICAP's global interdealer trading platforms and Rapid Ratings' Financial Health Rating (FHR) data for each company entity. FHRs offer a unique insight in the creditworthiness of thousands of companies. They apply industry-specific weightings to many more factors than conventional ratings firms, making it easier to compare companies to their peers. As markets lean increasingly towards automation, these fully algorithmic FHRs fulfil the needs of an ever-changing market by requiring no human involvement.
Customers can subscribe to this new service directly from ICAP or view via ICAP's global vendor distribution network.
"Partnering with ICAP for this unique view of the credit market will provide transparency and intelligence for financial market participants who require independent sources of data for valuations, as well as regulatory, accounting and risk management purposes" said James Gellert, Chairman and CEO of Rapid Ratings.
Kevin Taylor, Global Head of ICAP Information Services, said, "In an environment where there is a demand for greater transparency and accuracy, our new service will provide an independent credit pricing solution to financial market participants. This partnership with another provider of unique, independent data shows our continued commitment in expanding our product offering with varied and innovative new solutions that are exclusive to ICAP."