Moodys

Moody's Corporation, commonly referred to as Moody's, is an American credit ratings agency and financial services company. It provides credit ratings, research, data, and analytics for debt instruments and related financial products. The company operates through two main segments: Moody's Investors Service, which issues credit ratings; and Moody's Analytics, which offers risk management software, data, and research. Moody's serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, and investors worldwide.

Founded in 1909 by John Moody as a publisher of commercial and industrial information, the rating business grew into a standalone agency over the 20th century. In 2000 Moody's Corporation was formed as the parent company for the rating arm and the analytics arm, which originated from risk modeling activities later associated with KMV. Since then, Moody's has expanded through product development and acquisitions to cover global credit markets.

Ratings and products: Moody's uses a letter-based rating scale ranging from Aaa to C, with additional modifiers and outlook designations such as positive, stable, or negative. It provides issuer and issue ratings, sector and macroeconomic research, credit opinions, and default and recovery statistics. Moody's Analytics offers quantitative risk models, loss estimation tools, and economic forecasting used by financial institutions and governments.

Regulation and controversy: Moody's is designated as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and operates under applicable rules in multiple jurisdictions. The firm has faced regulatory scrutiny and penalties related to past rating practices linked to the global financial crisis, prompting ongoing reforms in the industry.

Global presence: Moody's maintains offices and research teams across the world and serves a diverse client base that includes issuers, investors, financial institutions, and public-sector entities.