Toronto-based credit-rating agency DBRS Ltd. and Overbond, a Toronto-based fintech firm that provides a digital platform for primary bond issuance, announced a deal to provide DBRS’s credit ratings and research on the Overbond platform.
The deal stems from a “dramatic rise” in primary bond market transaction volumes, which has increased the demand for credit ratings information, the firms say.
“Investors that look at the credit ratings of company or government debt as part of their considerations regarding different bonds now have direct access to this information from within the Overbond platform,” says Vuk Magdelinic, CEO and co-founder of Overbond, in a statement.
The arrangement will provide Overbond users with access to credit event alerts and rating actions through its platform. It will also allow users to analyze and visualize historical ratings data.
“The integration of DBRS proprietary RatingsNow data into the Overbond platform provides investors, issuers, and dealers easy access to data that supports informed investment decision-making, and evaluation and monitoring of risk,” Magdelinic adds.