 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1913; 112 years ago (1913) |
| Founder | John Knowles Fitch |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | |
| Revenue |  $1.7 Billion[1] |
Number of employees | 5,000 (approximate) |
| Parent | Hearst Corporation[2] |
| Website | fitchratings |
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an Americancredit rating agency. It is one of the threenationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the "Big Three credit rating agencies",[3] along withMoody's andStandard & Poor's.
Fitch Ratings is dual headquartered inNew York andLondon.[4]Hearst owns 100 percent of the company following its acquisition of an additional 20 percent for $2.8 billion on April 12, 2018.[2] Hearst had owned 80 percent of the company after increasing its ownership stake by 30 percent on December 12, 2014, in a transaction valued at $1.965 billion. Hearst's previousequity interest was 80 percent following expansions on an original acquisition of 20 percent interest in 2006.[5][6]
Hearst had jointly owned Fitch withFIMALAC SA, which held 20 percent of the company until the 2018 transaction. Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions are part of the Fitch Group.
The firm was founded byJohn Knowles Fitch on December 24, 1914, inNew York City as the Fitch Publishing Company. In 1989, the company was acquired by a group includingRobert Van Kampen.[7] In 1997, Fitch was acquired byFIMALAC and was merged with London-based IBCA Limited, a FIMALAC subsidiary.[8] In 2000, Fitch acquired both Chicago-basedDuff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. (April)[9] andThomson Financial BankWatch (December).
Fitch Ratings is the third largestNRSRO rating agency, covering a more limited share of the market than S&P and Moody's, though it has grown with acquisitions and frequently positions itself as a "tie-breaker" when the other two agencies have ratings similar, but not equal, in scale.[10]
In September 2011, Fitch Group announced the sale ofAlgorithmics (risk analytics software) toIBM for $387 million.[11]
In June 2022, Fitch Group acquiredGeoQuant, anAI-driven data and technology company.[12]
Fitch Ratings is a subsidiary of Fitch Group, a holding company wholly owned byHearst Communications.[13] Fitch Group also operates Fitch Solutions, a distribution channel for Fitch Ratings products and a provider of credit market data and financial analytics.[14] Fitch Group employs approximately 5,000 people, including over 1,600 analysts.[15] Paul Taylor is president and chief executive officer of Fitch Group.[16] Fitch Ratings is registered as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO).[17] The firm has more than 2,400 employees.[18] Ian Linnell is president of Fitch Ratings.[19]
The maincredit rating agencies, including Fitch, were accused of misrepresenting the risks associated with mortgage-related securities, which included thecollateralized debt obligation (CDO) market. There were large losses in the CDO market that occurred despite being assigned top ratings by the CRAs.
For instance, losses on $340.7 million worth of collateralized debt obligations (CDO) issued byCredit Suisse Group added up to about $125 million, despite being rated AAA by Fitch.[20]However, differently from the other agencies, Fitch was warning the market on theconstant proportion debt obligations (CPDO) with an early and pre-crisis report highlighting the dangers of CPDOs in 2007.[21]
In addition to Fitch Ratings, the Fitch Group also includes Fitch Solutions, a distribution channel for Fitch Ratings products and a provider of data, analytics, and related services.
As a result of Fitch's growth and acquisitions, we now have over 5,000 employees, including over 1,600 analysts[.]
We have over 2,400 employees[.]
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