Standard & Poor's launches Reference Entity Link in conjunction with Markit RED
New service developed as data solution for Rabobank
London, 13 October 2005 - Standard & Poor's, the leading provider of global securities referencing data, today launched Reference Entity Link, a product which provides full issuer and issue coverage behind each CLIP code. The product was launched in response to the needs of Rabobank to achieve a quick, comprehensive solution to identify all the issuers and issues associated with each entity scrubbed in Markit RED. Standard & Poor's CLIP codes link a business entity to an associated issue. Reference Entity Link is only available to Markit RED subscribers.
Reference Entity Link gives Rabobank access to more than 100,000 issuer and issue CUSIP and CINS numbers for the entities in the Markit RED database. This comprehensive perspective makes it easy to:
- Link a specific CUSIP to a particular business entity
- Identify the credit exposure of each CLIP entity
- Increase operational efficiency by eliminating manual entity- to issuer- to issue cross-referencing
The Markit RED database is the market standard for confirming reference entities and their reference obligation "pairs". Governed by an advisory board of representatives from seven major financial institutions, it provides accurate, audited legal reference names for approximately 1,800 entities, covering 2,500 issues. Markit RED recently announced their 100th subscriber.
Standard & Poor's offers Reference Entity Link as an optional service. Reference Entity Link is updated weekly and delivered via FTP. It may also be fully integrated into in-house trading, risk management and other systems. Reference Entity Link is an extremely valuable product considering the fact that nine-digit CLIP codes are mandatory for dealers matching on DTCC.
Commenting on this initiative, Darren Purcell, Associate Director for European Securities Classifications at Standard & Poor's said:
"Once again we have listened carefully to the needs of our clients and developed a product which takes the CLIP service one step further. We are delighted to combine Standard & Poor's CUSIP numbers and CLIP codes with the Markit RED database to provide the best service we can for Rabobank."
-ENDS-
About Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the leading independent provider of investment research, indices and ratings. With approximately 6,500 employees located in 22 countries, 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 www.standardandpoors.com
Standard & Poor's is the leading provider of global securities referencing data. It works closely with national numbering agencies and other data providers to support securities processing professionals worldwide. Standard & Poor's is the sole operator of the CUSIP Service Bureau and founder member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies.
About the Rabobank Group
The Rabobank Group is the largest financial services provider in the Dutch market. Owing to its cooperative foundation, the Rabobank Group's primary drive is to act in its clients' interest. Its core objective is to create and increase customer value. The Rabobank Group is the world's most creditworthy privately owned financial institution. It has over nine million private and business customers and is market leader in the Netherlands in virtually every area of financial services. The Rabobank Group consists of 269 independent local Rabobanks in the Netherlands, all of them cooperatives with a combined total of 1.5 million members. The Rabobank Group also encompasses internationally well known specialised entities such as Rabobank International (corporate banking, investment banking and international retail banking), De Lage Landen (leasing and vendor finance), Gilde Investment (venture capital), Interpolis (insurance) and Robeco (asset management). Its international network encompasses 244 offices in 37 countries.
About Markit
Markit is the leading industry source for asset valuation data and services supporting independent price verification and risk management in global financial and energy markets. Founded in 2001, the company is an independent enterprise with which the world's leading financial institutions and energy traders work strategically to create price transparency. Today, Markit enjoys the sponsorship of 13 financial institutions who manage assets in excess of $10 trillion, and data contribution relatio nships with over 50 dealing firms. Markit has designed, launched and acquired over 20 financial data services, which are now used by over 300 institutions globally. Areas of product expertise and service include an independent valuation perspective on OTC derivatives (credit, equity, FX, rates, energy, power, metals and structured products), corporate bonds, syndicated loans, dividend forecasting, and index and ETF management. For more information about Markit, see www.markit.com
For further information, please contact:
Standard & Poor's
George McFerran
Tel: +44 (0)20 7176 7433
Email: george_mcferran@standardandpoors.com
Penrose Financial
Mani Pillai/Sinead Scott-Lennon
Tel: +44 (0)20 7786 4814/4862
Email: manip@penrose.co.uk
Markit
Penny Davenport
Director
Tel: +44 (0)20 7890 5084
Email: penny.davenport@markit.com