Jules Kroll, the founder of global intelligence and security firm Kroll Inc, is reportedly planning to launch a credit rating agency.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Kroll’s venture will focus on giving second-opinion ratings on securitized debt. The article says the proposed firm’s analysis might consist of finding out the number of underlying borrowers in a mortgage-backed security that have missed a first payment. The company aims to have $100 million in annual turnover by the end of its third year.
Kroll is quoted as telling institutional investors: “When people come to sell you products and offer you ratings from the oligopoly, you say to them you want a Kroll.”
Kroll is funding the business with some of the money he made from selling his old risk consultancy to Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc, according to the report. He is also seeking between 10 and 20 institutional investors to fund the as-yet-unnamed agency.
The proposed launch will also spark a recruitment drive, with Kroll believed to be interested in quantitative experts from the likes of Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.
