Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS), an analytics and research unit separate from S&P’s ratings business, and Santa Ana, California’s Veros Real Estate Solutions have partnered to provide property valuations on loans underlying residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

Fully understanding the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of an underlying mortgage is one of the greatest challenges financial professionals face when they analyze mortgages and RMBS. The two companies explained that their alliance will give investors direct access to S&P loan level information, as well as a wide range of collateral valuation data from Veros, such as current property value estimates, combined loan to value ratios, and home price forecasts.

“The goal of this alliance is to provide RMBS investors worldwide greater clarity, transparency, and analytical capabilities when assessing the risk of their US RMBS holdings and their collateral,” said David Goldstein, managing director at Standard & Poor’s FIRMS. “This alliance is one more step toward improving the disclosure of information on collateral underlying RMBS, and refining the quality and integrity of information available to investors.”

The S&P division recently launched Standard & Poor’s Global Data Solutions —U.S. RMBS Edition, a new data feed to help investors evaluate exposure and risk for RMBS. Goldstein says the first stage in its strategic alliance with Veros will be to offer Veros’ loan level property valuations as part of the new U.S. RMBS Edition data feed.

“Veros is very excited to be an integral part of Standard & Poor’s efforts to provide greater loan level analytics to the non-agency market,” said Darius Bozorgi, president and CEO of Veros. “The combination of Standard & Poor’s FIRMS RMBS loan level data and analytics along with Veros’ insightful property valuation data sets provides an unmatched unique offering for investors.”