RiskMetrics Group has as added new features to its CreditManager solution that it says helps quantify overall credit risks, in the first in a series of scheduled product enhancements that extend the boundaries of credit risk software, says Ran Fuchs, head of RiskMetrics credit business.

The upgrade includes the ability to capture market exposure, rating changes and default risks within a value-at-risk framework, Fuchs, head of RiskMetrics credit business. CreditManager consolidates and compares risks and opportunities across a corporation's entire credit business: bonds, credit derivatives and traditional lending such as commitments and letters of credit and, for banks, the retail business. Fuchs adds that CreditManager now includes enhanced stress testing, securitization exposure and a suite of advisory services.

Originally designed for financial services companies, such as banks and insurers, CreditManager is increasingly being used by nonfinancial corporations, says Fuchs. "This is part of the natural evolution of the methodology," he says, noting how banks have often set the pace for breakthrough technology for financial risk management systems.