Acquisition Of Thomson Bankwatch Unit Complete; Rating Services To Become Part Of Fitch.Business Editors NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 2000 Following receipt of regulatory approval, Fimalac, the French diversified services group, announced today that its acquisition of Thomson's BankWatch ratings business was complete. The bank rating services currently offered worldwide by BankWatch will now become part of Fitch, Fimalac's international ratings agency. In exchange, The Thomson Corporation will hold an approximate 3.4% interest in Fitch. The acquisition reinforces Fitch's position as one of the three major international rating agencies and further strengthens its international banking coverage. Currently, all outstanding ratings from Fitch and Thomson BankWatch are being combined into a single set of ratings to be maintained by Fitch. Further press releases will be issued by Fitch today announcing its ratings reconciliation by six geographical regions: North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Asia, Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe The term "Central and Eastern Europe" came into wide spread use, replacing "Eastern bloc", to describe former Communist countries in Europe, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989/90. , and the Middle East and Africa. The outstanding public ratings of Fitch will be available on its web site, `www.fitchratings.com/bwnews'. Information may also be obtained by calling headquarters in New York and London. About Fitch Fitch, dual headquartered in New York and London, with a major office in Chicago, rates entities in 75 countries, with some 1,100 staff in over 27 local offices worldwide. The agency rates 1,600 financial institutions and some 1,000 corporates, maintains surveillance on 3,300 structured financings and 17,000 municipal bonds ratings in the U.S. tax-exempt market. It also rates over 700 insurance companies. Fitch is majority-owned by FIMALAC, S.A., Paris. About FIMALAC, S.A. FIMALAC, S.A., which is traded on the Paris stock exchange, has interests in a variety of service activities, such as hand tools and garage equipment through its subsidiary FACOM, chemical product storage through its subsidiaries LBC LBC Luton Borough Council LBC Liquid Based Cytology LBC Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation LBC Lancaster Bible College (Pennsylvania) LBC Long Beach California LBC Long Beach City LBC Albanian Airlines and PETROUNITED, mailing equipment machines through its subsidiary SECAP SECAP Scientific & Engineering Capability . FIMALAC's total revenues in 1999 were approximately EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 1.58 billion. |
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