Waters Rankings 2016: Best Credit Risk Solution Provider — Moody’s Analytics

Moody’s, which last won this category in 2011, returned with a bang in 2016 with enhancements to its RiskCalc offering to bag the award, according to Enterprise Risk Solutions senior director, Mehna Raissi. “This confirms the value that we bring to our customer base as a standalone offering, but also as an integrated solution across the tools that we have at Moody’s Analytics,” she says.

RiskCalc currently has over 500 clients globally, from banks to hedge funds, which access risk models within the platform. Moody’s Analytics recently incorporated loss-given default and recovery functionality into the platform. It partnered with CreditSafe, a provider of credit and financial information for European companies, to prepopulate European models within RiskCalc with income statements and balance-sheet data for a much simpler process. Raissi says the firm also continually validates its models and revamps RiskCalc’s software capabilities. 

One of the reasons she believes Moody’s Analytics was successful this year is the recognition that RiskCalc is global, harnessing industry- and country-specific models. These models are based on Moody’s Analytics credit research database, which the firm claims is transparent to end-users. The product then provides predictive credit risk measures that firms can use to get a strong understanding of the underlying risks within their portfolios. 

Raissi sees a changing regulatory environment for many of its clients and the fluctuating economy as challenges for RiskCalc. “We’re seeing shifts in the marketplace and the need for a tool that captures comprehensive credit measures and credit cycle changes  that translate to an early warning risk indicators for firms. We understand that the need and regulatory environment for our clients vary. We want to make sure that we have these needs and scenarios covered,” Raissi says. 

Financial institutions have to contend with the arrival of new regulations like International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9 and other proposed policies, requiring Moody’s to remain nimble and anticipate what its customers might need. The firm is proud of its people who joined the vendor from banks, regulatory offices and other institutions—employees who have, Raissi says, have "real world and hands on experience" with rules and best practices being proposed for the industry. 

RiskCalc currently has over 500 clients globally, from banks to hedge funds, which access risk models within the platform. Moody’s recently incorporated loss-given default and recovery functionality into the platform.

As the changing regulatory and economic environment continues to take shape, Moody’s Analytics is seeing more opportunities to test RiskCalc’s mettle.