Virtus Partners Adopts the Financial Instrument Global Identifier for Syndicated Loans

Leading fixed-income services provider enhances communications with credit managers

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Oct 28, 2015, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtus Partners announced today it has adopted the Financial Instrument Global Identifier, or FIGI, to identify syndicated loans that sit in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and other credit based structures. By adopting the FIGI standard, CLO and credit (or just loan) asset managers now have the ability to easily identify loans and create comprehensive reports to help investors better understand the performance of their investments.

Based on Bloomberg's Open Symbology, the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) is an open data standard and unique identifier of financial instruments that can be used across all global asset classes, including syndicated loans, common stock, options, derivatives, futures, corporate and government bonds, municipals, currencies, and mortgage products. Last year, nonprofit technology standards consortium Object Management Group voted unanimously to adopt FIGI as the standard methodology for identifying financial instruments, such as syndicated loans in CLOs.

Robert Tomicic, Partner and Co-Founder of Virtus Partners, commented, "Integrating the FIGI into our platform enhances our ability to provide data and services to our clients in a highly efficient and automated way. The connectivity with Bloomberg's comprehensive loan database, pricing services, news and analytics with Virtus' trade settlement solution, administration and outsourcing services will lead to improved efficiencies for our customers."

"Virtus Partners' long-standing position in collateral administration, combined with their recently enhanced secondary settlement platform, is a natural partner for Bloomberg's fixed income platform, as we continue to see the adoption of the FIGI for syndicated loans," said Mark Betteridge, Global Product Manager, Syndicated Loans and League Tables, Bloomberg.

Virtus will use the FIGI to efficiently communicate and transfer data to and from clients. Additionally, Virtus will seamlessly be able to connect its data and services to the broader Bloomberg community. By adopting FIGI, Virtus is enhancing its ability to deliver top-quality front-, middle- and back-office services for credit and fixed-income managers.

As the registration authority, Bloomberg will continuously build, update, and administer FIGI identifiers to ensure their accuracy and effectiveness, but also encourages third parties to integrate the standard into their databases. To learn more about Bloomberg's Open Symbology initiative and the FIGI, visit www.bloomberglabs.com/symbology/

About Bloomberg
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company's strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 325,000 subscribers globally. For more information, visit www.bloomberg.com.

About Virtus
Virtus is the premier provider of tailored fixed-income services for the world's elite managers. Our robust offering combines front-, middle- and back-office services in a single platform, customized to your needs. We support structured and non-structured transactions, including administration, middle-office outsourcing and data and analytics. With over $220 billion in assets across the platform, Virtus offers a robust suite of capabilities. For more information about Virtus, visit www.virtusllc.com.

About the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI)
The Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) is an open data standard for identifying financial instruments across all global asset classes. Defined and issued by the Object Management Group, Bloomberg was nominated to be the Registration Authority and a Certified Provider for the standard. The FIGI is a comprehensive, open and unchanging identifier that helps financial market participants, third-party data providers, exchanges, governments, settlement agencies and regulators improve connectivity, interoperability, transparency, and efficiency in the financial market place. The Object Management Group (OMG), is global not-for-profit technology standards consortium. Please find more information about the FIGI, please visit: www.bloomberglabs.com/symbology/

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SOURCE Bloomberg