Prague, 24/05/2006

"The whole system is based on Czech data and has a proven high explanatory power in the Czech environment," Pavel Finger, member of the board of CCB - Czech Credit Bureau, a.s. in charge of iRating, said today. Another unique aspect is the use of an internet user interface, which makes the process for evaluating the economic health of companies faster, simpler and also more objective. The user simply inputs the essential economic parameters of the evaluated entity through the web interface, and the rest is executed automatically. The rating report is available on-line in no time. Users have access to the iRating application based on the agreement with CCB (iRating for financial sector, iRating used by the Union of Czech and Slovak Housing Cooperatives) or with the Prague Chamber of Commerce (project RatingMSP). The fee for a single iRating report ranges from hundreds to several thousands of crowns. The required entry data are easily available from a company's accounts and all the data for municipalities are already in the CCB database.

The banking sector is the dominant user of iRating in the Czech Republic at this time. But it is not the only one. CCB methodology is employed by the CzechInvest agency in evaluating the requests for support from EU funds. iRating is the basis of the RatingMSP project (rating small and medium sized companies) of the Prague Chamber of Commerce and also the evaluation of the economy of housing associations conducted in cooperation with the Union of Czech and Slovak Housing Cooperatives.

"Since 2004 thousands of economic entities have undergone iRating evaluation," noted Pavel Finger. He envisaged a further major increase in the number of evaluated entities after the successful conclusions of negotiations with additional financial institutions that intend to use iRating to support their loan risk management services. These negotiations are now underway.


The joint project with the Prague Chamber of Commerce holds great potential for the development of iRating. According to Petr Kužel, chairman of the Prague Chamber of Commerce, businessmen appreciate iRating's speed, affordable cost, and easy-to-understand operation. The price of a small and medium-size company iRating report, which ranges in thousands of crowns, is more than offset by the advantages offered by partner organizations.

"RatingMSP is an important businessman's tool when negotiating with business partners and banks," says Petr Kužel. The Rating MSP was also adopted by the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and negotiations with other organizations from Central and Eastern Europe are underway. EU experts also showed an interest in the project, and they intend to have a closer look at it at the "5th Banks and Small and medium-sized Companies Roundtable" to take place this fall in Helsinki.
"Apart from its use as a material for negotiations with banks, some housing cooperatives use iRating as proof of their good economic stewardship to their members," concluded Jiří Vácha, head of the economic department of the Union of Czech and Slovak Housing Cooperatives, who makes iRating available to housing cooperatives.
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