CMS BondEdge Launches Portfolio Credit Risk Capabilities; Integrates RiskMetrics Group's CreditGrades Product into Offering.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2002

CMS BondEdge, an operating division of Interactive Data Corporation (Nasdaq: IDCO) and a leading provider of fixed income portfolio analytics, today announces the release of a new Credit Risk reporting module in its BondEdge product.

A series of credit risk reports now available to BondEdge clients combines information from RiskMetrics Group's CreditGrades product with proprietary CMS BondEdge data to help managers more effectively evaluate credit risk at the individual security level, as well as compare portfolio credit exposure versus a benchmark.

Laurie Adami, president of CMS BondEdge, comments, "Given the level of defaults and rating downgrades in the current economic environment, our clients are eager for us to deliver additional tools to them that will assist them with the early detection of credit problems. Integrating robust credit risk measurement tools within the BondEdge platform provides the market with a more complete picture of the risks inherent in their portfolios."

The new Credit Risk reports in the BondEdge system include theoretical credit default spreads and default probabilities for debt issues of publicly traded corporations, provided daily by RiskMetrics Group. This information is combined with recent pricing histories on these bonds. Additional statistics are then calculated, such as standard deviations and moving averages. All of this information is incorporated into a series of new Credit Risk Reports that indicate default risk for each bond. Exposures are also aggregated to summarize default risk at the industry level and to permit comparisons between the portfolio and a benchmark.

Teri Geske, senior vice president of product development for CMS BondEdge, adds, "The synthesis of RiskMetrics' theoretical model output with actual market trends provided by CMS BondEdge afford clients a more balanced view of their credit risk profile. One of the notable advantages to the credit default risk measures provided by RiskMetrics Group is the transparency of all the assumptions made by the underlying model. We've created a toolset which not only allows clients to monitor potential credit risk, but to fully understand the rationale behind that assessment as well."

About CMS BondEdge:

For over 20 years, CMS BondEdge has been recognized as a leader in fixed income analytical software. Long known for the BondEdge system, CMS BondEdge is trusted as an independent source of research, analytics and valuation tools by over 550 institutions in the U.S. and Canada. CMS BondEdge is an affiliate of FT Interactive Data and division of Interactive Data Corporation (Nasdaq:IDCO), a leading global provider of financial and business information to institutional and individual investors. More information on CMS BondEdge is available at www.cmsbondedge.com. Corporate information on Interactive Data Corporation is available at www.interactivedatacorp.com.

About Risk Metrics Group:

RiskMetrics Group empowers institutions and their clients around the world to make better investment decisions. RiskMetrics Group's risk management and wealth management systems, services, and data are used by hundreds of leading financial institutions, multinational corporations and many of the world's central banks.

Formerly a division at J.P. Morgan, RiskMetrics Group was spun-off as a separate company in 1998. The company has seven offices around the world, including New York, London, Tokyo, and Singapore.