History of the group and recent transactions

1992-1997: From the initial investment in the ratings business to the creation of a European business base

Fimalac made its first investment in the ratings business in 1992, when credit ratings were still relatively unheard of in Europe, with the aim of leveraging the opportunities that were expected to arise from financial market deregulation and disintermediation.

It was clear from the outset that a French base would quickly prove too small to build a rating agency, and at the end of 1992 Fimalac seized the opportunity to purchase Ibca, a small London-based agency with 38 employees that had an excellent reputation, particularly in European bank ratings.

The period 1993-1997 was devoted to widening Ibca's ratings offering and growing the business, focusing on Europe. Over time, Ibca extended its coverage to include the entire financial institutions sector, corporate finance, public finance, managed funds and structured finance. Originally based in London, Ibca gradually built an international network of offices, mainly in continental Europe but also in South America. By the end of 1997, it had revenues of over $30 million and some 180 employees.

The successful development of Ibca attested to the quality of Fimalac's strategy and its skill in seeking out businesses with strong international capabilities that have the potential to serve as the foundation for creating a European champion. As was the case for the other Fimalac companies that expanded in Europe from a national base, it became clear that Ibca needed to achieve global scale and to set up operations in the United States, the world's largest ratings market. This was particularly important because Ibca was not an SEC-recognized NRSRO and therefore could not rate US issuers.

1997-2000: Creation of an international rating agency

At the end of 1997, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière was contacted by the owner of Fitch, a US-based rating agency known for its expertise, particularly in structured finance, who was interested in buying Ibca.

By the end of the negotiations, the tables had been turned and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière acquired Fitch. The transaction provided the opportunity to create a global player by leveraging the excellent geographic and product fit between Ibca and Fitch, as well as Fitch's status as an NRSRO.

Thanks to this US presence and expanded business base, Fimalac reached its goal of becoming an international rating agency sooner than expected. The two companies were merged in 1998 to form Fitch-Ibca, with headquarters in both New York and London. Revenues grew from $156 million in 1998 to $172 million in 1999, with around 750 employees.

2000: Emergence of the world's third largest rating agency

Following the merger, the challenge was to raise Fitch-Ibca to a position alongside Moody's and Annual Report 2005

Standard & Poor's, the two US-based agencies that dominated the global market. A major step forward in meeting this challenge was taken in April 2000, with Fimalac's successful takeover bid on the New York stock exchange for Duff & Phelps, the fourth largest rating agency. To complete the consolidation process, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière persuaded Thomson Financial Services to sell him their Bankwatch subsidiary, specialized in financial institutions and ranked No. 5 in the ratings market, with a fairly strong presence in Asia.

On completion of these transactions, the four agencies were merged to form Fitch Ratings and Fimalac fulfilled its goal of creating the world's third largest rating agency with 2001 revenues of more than $300 million and some 1,250 employees worldwide.

Today, Fimalac - through Fitch Ratings - holds an unassailable position among the top three rating agencies worldwide. 2005 was an excellent year for Fitch Ratings, with revenues of some $594 million and around 1,750 employees worldwide, including some 970 analysts.

From offices in some fifty countries, Fitch Ratings maintains coverage and surveillance of:

• Around 3,200 financial institutions and nearly
• 2,000 insurance companies
• Nearly 1,300 corporate issuers
• Over 95 sovereign issuers
• More than 80,000 municipal transactions
• More than 8,000 structured finance transactions.

2005: Creation of Fitch Group with the extension of Fimalac's interests to include enterprise risk management

In January 2005, a new milestone was crossed in the expansion of Fimalac's financial sector business, with the acquisition of Algorithmics, the leading provider of enterprise risk management solutions. Toronto-based Algorithmics stands at the forefront of the risk management industry. It has some fifteen international offices and generates 60% of its revenue in Europe. Fitch had started building its own risk management business two years previously, and the Fitch Risk Management and Algorithmics teams were combined to create a 660-strong team of risk professionals generating revenues of $99 million in 2005.

2008: creation of Fitch Solutions

In January 2008, Fitch Group announced the creation of Fitch Solutions, a new division bringing to market a wide range of data, analytical tools and related services that also distributes Fitch Ratings' content.