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NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 -- Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) today announced an investment in Finagraph, a pioneering provider of automated financial data collection and business intelligence solutions. The investment underscores Moody’s commitment to applying advanced technologies to enhance the availability and quality of financial data and credit analysis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Moody’s investment will enable Finagraph to further develop its technology and drive product adoption among both SMEs and small business lenders. In partnership with Finagraph, Moody’s expects to broaden its offering of credit risk solutions covering SMEs, including Moody’s Analytics Lending Cloud software and default risk models.
"We believe there is an important opportunity to better serve financial institutions that lend to small and medium-sized businesses with solutions that streamline the credit assessment and approval process,” said Mark Almeida, President of Moody’s Analytics. “Since our 2014 acquisition of WebEquity, we have extended our expertise in credit analysis and bank risk management to the small bank segment. Finagraph’s technology and insight into small business financials enable us to accelerate our efforts to transform the way lenders interact with small businesses, helping bankers make better, faster lending decisions for the growing SME market.”
Founded in 2011, Finagraph offers innovations that automate the collection of financial data by integrating directly with widely-used accounting software. Finagraph’s solutions help banks analyze this data to gain insight into borrowers’ financial performance and assess credit risk.
Under the terms of the investment, Moody’s will gain a minority ownership stake in Finagraph and will receive a seat on its board of directors. The investment was funded through US cash on hand and is not expected to have an impact on Moody’s EPS in 2016.
ABOUT MOODY’S CORPORATION
Moody's is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers leading-edge software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis and financial risk management. The corporation, which reported revenue of $3.5 billion in 2015, employs approximately 10,400 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 36 countries. Further information is available at www.moodys.com.
ABOUT FINAGRAPH
Seattle-based Finagraph is a best-in-class financial data collection and business intelligence company. Finagraph's pioneering technology gathers and organizes financials directly from accounting systems, providing financial professionals and business owners with clear and actionable information. Finagraph’s streamlined workflow replaces the traditional paperwork process and adds instant intelligence to best help banks understand a business' financial health and trends. To learn more, visit www.finagraph.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements and are based on future expectations, plans and prospects for Moody’s business and operations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any duty to supplement, update or revise such statements on a going-forward basis, whether as a result of subsequent developments, changed expectations or otherwise. In connection with the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company is identifying certain factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Those factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the current world-wide credit market disruptions and economic slowdown, which is affecting and could continue to affect the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets; other matters that could affect the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets, including credit quality concerns, changes in interest rates and other volatility in the financial markets; the level of merger and acquisition activity in the US and abroad; the uncertain effectiveness and possible collateral consequences of US and foreign government initiatives to respond to the current world-wide credit market disruptions and economic slowdown; concerns in the marketplace affecting Moody’s credibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent credit agency ratings; the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; pricing pressure from competitors and/or customers; the level of success of new product development and global expansion; the impact of regulation as an NRSRO, the potential for new US, state and local legislation and regulations, including provisions in the Financial Reform Act and regulations resulting from that Act; the potential for increased competition and regulation in the EU and other foreign jurisdictions; exposure to litigation related to Moody’s rating opinions, as well as any other litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries to which the Company may be subject from time to time; provisions in the Financial Reform Act legislation modifying the pleading standards, and EU regulations modifying the liability standards, applicable to credit rating agencies in a manner adverse to credit rating agencies; provisions of EU regulations imposing additional procedural and substantive requirements on the pricing of services; the possible loss of key employees; failures or malfunctions of Moody’s operations and infrastructure; any vulnerabilities to cyber threats or other cybersecurity concerns; the outcome of any review by controlling tax authorities of the Company’s global tax planning initiatives; the outcome of those Legacy Tax Matters and legal contingencies that relate to the Company, its predecessors and their affiliated companies for which Moody’s has assumed portions of the financial responsibility; exposure to potential criminal sanctions or civil remedies if the Company fails to comply with foreign and US laws and regulations that are applicable in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates, including sanctions laws, anti-corruption laws and local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials; the impact of mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations and the ability of the Company to successfully integrate acquired businesses; currency and foreign exchange volatility; the level of future cash flows; the levels of capital investments; and a decline in the demand for credit risk management tools by financial institutions; and other risk factors as discussed in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and in other filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Media Contacts:
For Moody’s
Michael Adler Senior Vice President Corporate Communications 212.553.4667 michael.adler@moodys.com
or
Salli Schwartz
Global Head of Investor Relations 212.553.4862 sallilyn.schwartz@moodys.com
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