OREANDA-NEWS. Moody’s Corporation (MCO) today announced a collaboration with Euler Hermes Rating GmbH (EHRG), a Hamburg-based ratings agency, to provide credit ratings for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap companies across Europe. EHRG is a subsidiary of Euler Hermes (ELE:PA), the world leader in trade credit insurance.

Euler Hermes Rating, through its collaboration with Moody’s, will launch new credit ratings services for SMEs and mid-cap companies in select European countries by leveraging Moody’s Investors Service’s credit ratings methodology expertise and drawing upon the Euler Hermes group’s extensive experience analyzing the trade credit of European companies. The new rating product will be launched in Germany in early 2017, followed by other European countries later in the year.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Euler Hermes Rating as they extend credit ratings to small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Europe,” said Jens Schmidt-Buergel, Country Manager for Moody’s Investors Service in Germany. “Expanding credit ratings coverage for SMEs can provide greater transparency for market participants and help this vital sector of the European economy attract growth capital.”

As part of the collaboration, Moody’s has agreed to acquire a 4.99% stake in EHRG. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The investment was funded through international cash on hand and is not material to Moody’s earnings.

Moody's is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers leading-edge software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis and financial risk management. The corporation, which reported revenue of $3.5 billion in 2015, employs approximately 10,800 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 36 countries.