The Challenge

Fitch Ratings informs the world’s financial markets by providing independent credit ratings, commentary, and research. Fitch’s Risk and Performance Platform (RPP) is a powerful tool for portfolio managers and risk analysts to assess the creditworthiness of corporations, financial institutions, and sovereigns.

Fitch engaged Centralis to explore how current users across Europe and the U.S. leverage RPP in their risk analysis process, and to explore the potential value proposition of the product among prospective users.

The Process

To observe the use of RPP in real time, our research team embedded themselves in the offices of credit analysts, researchers, and economists across Europe and North America. Participants demonstrated how they use the product and its data feed to inform their assessments of a range of entities, as well as how Fitch’s offering complements other available data sources.

To explore the potential value of RPP in other settings, we facilitated six interactive discussion groups with prospective users of the platform. In each group, we explored the participants’ risk analysis processes, their current tool kit, and their reactions to a demonstration of Fitch’s product. Our analysis identified strengths and limitations of the current product’s user experience, as well as opportunities for Fitch to integrate its valuable data into customers’ overall workflow.

The Impact

Global investment professionals rely on Fitch Ratings and its product suite to construct a comprehensive picture of an entity’s financial health. Our research identified the optimal role for RPP within the range of sources used by analysts, especially given a context of heightened vigilance and increased emphasis on fundamentals in the market. Our work also identified concrete opportunities to improve the platform’s user experience for increased adoption and more streamlined usage.