LONDON and FRANKFURT, Germany, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Capital IQ and SNL, a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI) and a leading provider of research, analytics and data, and Deutsche Bundesbank - together with the Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office (EPCO) - have signed a four-year agreement for the delivery of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services' credit ratings and research.

The agreement allows the central banks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as members of EPCO to access a wide range of issuer credit data through S&P Capital IQ's RatingsDirect and Xpressfeed tools, as well as through several other market data vendors. Moreover, the agreement provides all participating central banks with the ability to share information in centralised databases - such as the ECB's Centralised Securities Database –thereby emphasizing credit risk analysis efficiency within and across the banks. The central banks also have the opportunity to obtain access to financial fundamentals and other market data, analytics and research through S&P Capital IQ's web-based platform.

Most banks use Standard & Poor's data and research in their credit risk assessment processes, and risk management, market operations, financial stability and supervisory functions. Also, as a recognised external credit assessment institution (ECAI), Standard & Poor's' credit ratings and research can be used by national central banks for their submission of eligible assets to the European Central Bank in exchange for credit and liquidity.

"Our combined company has been a long time partner within the European regulatory system and we are excited to expand the relationships of both SPCIQ and SNL Financial across the wider ESCB community. This agreement highlights the importance of Standard & Poor's credit ratings and research among central bankers, both for the insights they provide as well as the transparency they help enable," said Mike Chinn, President of S&P Capital IQ and SNL. "With this initiative, S&P Capital IQ and SNL seeks to support the European central banks in their shared tasks by making our product offering accessible to them in a centralized way, with the aim of contributing to an overall more integrated and seamless credit analysis process." 

S&P Capital IQ's RatingsDirect® is the official desktop source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings and research. Combined with additional market intelligence and risk indicators, it delivers what clients need for efficient credit analysis and alpha discovery.

Xpressfeed is S&P Capital IQ's powerful data feed management solution. It capitalises on the combined strengths of S&P Capital IQ and selects third-party vendors to deliver financial and non-financial data to help clients enhance their proprietary analytics, financial portals, CRM systems and more.

About S&P Capital IQ + SNL Financial
S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI), 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, governments, corporations and universities around the world. The newly combined firm, previously S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, integrates breaking news, comprehensive data and analysis into a variety of tools to help track performance, generate alpha, and identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform investment risk analysis.  The firm offers the S&P Capital IQ, SNL, Global Credit Portal and Market Scope Advisor desktops as well as enterprise solutions, such as S&P Capital IQ Valuations; and research offerings from Leveraged Commentary & Data, Global Markets Intelligence, SNL Kagan, SNL Energy, SNL Real Estate and SNL Metals & Mining. Together, S&P Capital IQ and SNL sharpen financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need. For more information, visit www.spcapitaliq.com or www.snl.com.

About EPCO
The Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office (EPCO) is an office created by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank to exploit synergies and economies of scale among the Eurosystem members. Its objective is to comply with the principles of cost-efficiency and effectiveness and seek the best value for money from the procurement of goods and services. The participation in EPCO is open to all members of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
For more information, visit www.epco.lu.

SOURCE S&P Capital IQ and SNL