Moody’s Corporation announced the creation of a new analytical franchise within Moody’s Investors Service (MIS), the rating agency, that will focus on delivering strategic insights into the rapidly expanding private credit sector. Ana Arsov has been named Global Head of Private Credit, and will lead coordination of relevant research and rating initiatives across MIS. Arsov will also co-head the global Financial Institutions Group (FIG) along with Simon Harris.
The organizational updates reflect the growing importance of private credit in capital markets and investor demand for Moody’s research and ratings adjacent to the sector. The analytical franchise will provide transparency into the complex private credit markets and their interlinkages with broader capital markets, as per the statement.
“The rapid growth of the private credit market in recent years has introduced new challenges and opportunities for investors, who are looking for fresh analysis from a trusted source,” said Michael West, President of Moody’s Investors Service. “Ana’s deep experience with financial institutions will help establish a holistic approach to assessing private credit across a variety of sectors and asset classes.”
As part of her new role, Arsov will promote engagement across MIS rating groups, including Financial Institutions, Corporate Finance, and Structured Finance, and will deepen existing analytical capabilities for business development companies, CLOs, and other private credit-related assets. She will also provide appropriate support to Moody’s Analytics, which offers relevant customer solutions related to counterparty assessment and portfolio risk, according to the statement.
In her capacity as co-head of FIG, Arsov will continue to engage with a broad range of financial institutions including global systemically important banks, capital markets intermediaries, and non-bank financial services companies. Prior to today’s announcement, Arsov was the global co-head of bank ratings and held a number of senior management roles overseeing ratings for banks, securities firms, specialty finance, and more. She contributed to Moody’s rating methodologies for finance companies, securities firms, and clearing houses, and led the development of Moody’s counterparty risk rating.
In alignment with the private credit analytical franchise, MIS has created a commensurate private credit team within its Relationship Management unit, which will be led by Tom Lazaridis. Lazaridis has over 20 years of experience developing and maintaining client relationships across the banking, asset management, and insurance sectors. He will guide a team of private credit experts to drive business development initiatives and enhance brand perception while collaborating with other commercial teams and groups within MIS, according to the statement.
