Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related services, has announced that its pricing and reference data business has expanded the coverage of i

Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related services, has announced that its pricing and reference data business has expanded the coverage of its interest rate swap valuation service by adding independent valuations of fixed-for-floating interest rate swaps in Australian dollars and Japanese yen, in addition to its existing coverage of swaps in sterling, euros, Swiss francs and US dollars.

Interactive Data estimates that the company now covers nearly 95 per cent of the total notional amount of interest rate swaps outstanding. In addition, to meet growing demand for more complex interest rate swap structures, it now delivers independent valuations of forward starting swaps.

The expansion of the interest rate swap valuation service complements the independent valuations for other alternative investment instruments delivered by Interactive Data, including syndicated bank loans, single name credit default swaps, and CDS trades linked to the Dow Jones CDX and iTraxx families of indices.

Interactive Data generates two interest rate swap valuations each day, based on curves at the end of the day in London (16:30 GMT) and New York (16:00 ET, and can deliver either valuation or both to customers depending on their needs. The valuations of interest rate swaps are based on benchmark curves from Icap, the world's premier interdealer broker, other sources and trade details input by customers.

'Interactive Data is actively increasing its coverage of complex structured products in line with the needs of our clients and emerging industry trends,' says Shant Harootunian, managing director of evaluated services for Interactive Data's pricing and reference data business.

'Recent market volatility, the growing complexity of financial instruments and the introduction of new regulations have led to increased client demand for a broad range of independent valuations from a single provider. We will continue to work closely with our clients to understand their requirements, and aim to provide services that can help reduce the time, cost and effort associated with portfolio valuation processes.'

The interest rate swap valuation service is available on a stand-alone basis and as a module of FTS, Interactive Data's online portfolio administration service, which offers user-friendly set-up screens and the ability to upload trade data and download output files.

The company's data pricing and reference data business provides global securities pricing, evaluations and reference data designed to support financial institutions' and investment funds' pricing activities, securities operations, research and portfolio management. It collects, edits, maintains and delivers data on more than 6 million securities, including daily evaluations for around 2.5 million fixed income and international equity issues.

Interactive Data's businesses supply real-time market data, time-sensitive pricing, evaluations and reference data to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors for millions of securities traded around the world, including hard-to-value instruments. The company, a subsidiary of international media group Pearson, has some 2,300 employees at its headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts and offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.