National Association of Insurance Commissioners Extends Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC Designation to Include Financial Institutions, Brokers, or Dealers; Corporate Issuers

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has extended Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC's designation on its NAIC Credit Rating Provider list to include financial institutions, brokers, or dealers as well as corporate issuers, as of Feb. 22, 2017. Morningstar Credit Ratings' designation previously covered commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and asset-backed securities (ABS). Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. MORN and a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO).

"We are excited about the extension of our NAIC designation to financial institutions and corporate issuers and what it represents for investors and issuers in these sectors. Financial institutions and corporations who issue debt in the public and private placement markets, much of which is sold to insurance companies, will have more choices when selecting an NRSRO and accessing the debt capital markets," Vickie Tillman, president of Morningstar Credit Ratings, said. "We will also be able to provide insurance companies with access to our transparent and objective credit analysis for new-issue debt and surveillance as well as our NRSRO credit ratings, to assist in determination of risk-based capital under NAIC guidelines for financial institutions and corporate issuers."

Morningstar Credit Ratings offers ratings and analytical services for CMBS, RMBS, single-family rental securities, ABS, and corporate issuers and financial institutions. Since late 2009, Morningstar Credit Ratings has rated more than 300 structured finance transactions representing approximately $188 billion of securities issuance across various types of CMBS, RMBS, and ABS. Information about Morningstar Credit Ratings' offerings as well as all of its NRSRO credit ratings, methodologies, and research are available to issuers and investors at http://morningstarcreditratings.com.

For more information about the NAIC's use of credit ratings, please visit www.naic.org.

About Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC and Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) offering a wide array of services including new-issue ratings and analysis, operational risk assessments, surveillance services, data, and technology solutions. Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. MORN.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $200 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Dec. 31, 2016. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Morningstar, Inc. is not an NRSRO and does not issue NRSRO credit ratings.

©2017 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

MORN-C

Media Contact:
Vanessa Sussman, +1 646 560-4541 or vanessa.sussman@morningstar.com  

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.