NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of final government and industry deliberations on the development and issuance of a standard Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) to meet global regulatory requirements, S&P Capital IQ, a leading provider of multi-asset class data, research and analytics, today announced its efforts to both incorporate the LEI into its reference product suite, while also taking this opportunity to significantly enhance its cross reference services. In the next few months, S&P Capital IQ will launch a Business Entity Cross Reference Service (BECRS) that will include vendor specific Entity Identifiers linked to a single S&P Capital IQ identifier.  Additional releases will occur over ensuing months focusing on the global instrument and sector levels.   

"While we applaud the introduction of a standard, widely adopted Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) as an important and necessary step to improve risk management and business processing practices, S&P Capital IQ views it as a useful starting point, but not an end, as firms will need to link the LEI to the multiple Entity ID schemas currently being used," said Daina Senatore, Managing Director, S&P Capital IQ.  "As capital markets continue to become more global and complex, our main focus continues to be on developing overall cross reference capabilities  that provide a broad range of  linkages between entities, companies, securities, sectors and trading items for the benefit of a diverse  user base."

S&P Capital IQ is using the S&P Capital IQ Entity ID as its primary data key and will cross-reference standardized and proprietary identifiers and identify the ultimate parent, thus providing the foundation for master reference data, trading databases, client relationship management systems and more to support activities from the front to the back office. This approach will allow for automated cross-links to handle the addition of new fields and ongoing changes in a highly efficient manner.

In this way, S&P Capital IQ's Business Entity Cross Reference Service (BECRS) is able to provide immediate cross reference capabilities to millions of entities. The offering will also provide descriptive data to help users identify a particular entity or issuer.

To learn more about S&P Capital IQ's work and capabilities in this area click here for a copy of "Entity Data Management: Getting the Foundation Right with a Robust Cross-Reference Solution" or contact Roger Fahy (212-438-4221) or Frank DeNuzzi (212-438-4928)

About S&P Capital IQ

S&P Capital IQ, a business line of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading provider of multi-asset class and real time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, corporations and universities around the world. We provide a broad suite of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, and identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. Through leading desktop solutions such as the S&P Capital IQ, Global Credit Portal and MarketScope Advisor desktops; enterprise solutions such as S&P Capital IQ Valuations, and Compustat; and research offerings, including Leveraged Commentary & Data, Global Markets Intelligence, and company and funds research, S&P Capital IQ sharpens financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need. For more information visit: www.spcapitaliq.com.

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SOURCE S&P Capital IQ