Moody’s Analytics decades-long journey of constant evolution and improvement has placed the firm at the cutting edge of data analysis. A concerted push on scope, quality, and speed has yielded new partnerships, and with them access to a wider customer base, unique products, and new use cases. For a third consecutive year, the firm has topped the polls and won GlobalCapital’s Securitization Data Provider of the Year award.
The latest chapter in the firm’s journey began three years ago when it started working with Citi to provide data and analytics for the bank’s Velocity platform. Coverage on that platform ranges across multiple asset classes and has expanded steadily, most recently in mid-2021 when Moody’s added commercial-backed mortgage securities (CMBS). Then in late 2021, the firm joined seven major US financial institutions to become the eighth equity partner in Octaura, signing an agreement to provide data and analytics to the revolutionary electronic trading platform.
Navigating these new partnerships required a huge commitment. The firm bolstered headcount on the structured finance and analytics teams, and worked tirelessly to improve coverage, quality and turnaround time. “We knew we had to get into new use cases, and attract traders and primary market participants,” says David Little, general manager, structured finance, at Moody’s Analytics. “Our coverage is strong but we continually work to improve our timing and quality to provide an even more comprehensive data set.”
Our coverage is strong but we continually work to improve our timing and quality to provide an even more comprehensive data set.
This is naturally drawing interest from a whole swathe of new customers. Moody’s Analytics started out as a firm that brings transparency through data and analytics and is shifting to be a full spectrum product suite that supports pricing and has coverage across the entire market. “We’re definitely noticing different types of customers who are calling us as they see the momentum, the announcements, and the expansion of the Moody’s Analytics product suite,” says Little.
Existing customers have also benefited from the firm's drive to scale-up and improve its operations. The constant push for growth builds confidence, while faster turnaround time and better coverage and quality improve user experience. This is on top of an established reputation for client support that sets the firm apart from its peers. Investors recognise the firm’s dedication to helping them answer questions and get the most out of its products and services.
“Customer service is a big part of why we’re here today,” says Nicole Lawrence, senior director, strategy, at Moody's Analytics. “If we have a customer that has an idea about a change they would like to see in a product, we are quick to respond.”
There is no shortage of new products on the horizon for Moody’s. The firm is expanding into new areas adjacent to its existing offerings, including commercial real estate and ESG capabilities. This has led, for instance, to collaboration between ESG and structured finance teams to analyse physical risk across underlying assets in CMBS pools. Increasingly, Moody’s is able to help provide ESG, environmental and physical risk metrics to securitization. “We're starting to engage with our customers and be proactive about addressing and solving these new types of problems,” says Little.
Customer service is a big part of why we’re here today. If we have a customer that has an idea about a change they would like to see in a product, we are quick to respond
The Octaura initiative is set to bring yet more fresh opportunities, centralising data from across the market. This will provide a wealth of information, creating trading efficiencies, greater transparency, and a new generation of analytic products.
“We see a drive towards transparency as a big part of the future,” says Lawrence. “But it’s about more than that. These partnerships that we are entering into really help make data access faster and more straightforward for the wider market.”
Looking to the future, the focus is on joint venture product opportunities using the united expertise from the community of global banks and Moody's Analytics’ proficiency with data. “That's where we want to go,” says Little. “If you can combine that kind of market expertise with a data and analytics platform like ours, you can create products that the market hasn't seen.”