NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC today announced it now provides commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) letter ratings via the Bloomberg Professional service, a leading financial information platform that provides data, news, and analytics to more than 315,000 business and financial professionals.

"We're continuing to expand the distribution of our credit ratings to better meet the demands of investors," Vickie Tillman, president of Morningstar Credit Ratings, said. "Morningstar Credit Ratings is the only Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization providing surveillance ratings for the majority of secondary market CMBS transactions, regardless of whether or not we provided a rating at issuance. Our agreement with Bloomberg is another step toward providing investors with access to the information they need to make informed decisions."

Morningstar will also distribute its new-issue CMBS Pre-Sale analysis to Bloomberg Professional service subscribers. The Pre-Sale analysis provides investors with a comprehensive overview of Morningstar-rated CMBS new-issue transactions.

More information about Morningstar's CMBS ratings and surveillance service is available at https://ratingagency.morningstar.com.

About Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC and Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) that specializes in structured credit research and ratings, and offers a wide array of services including new-issue ratings and analysis, operational risk assessments, surveillance services, data, and technology solutions.

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Morningstar, Inc. offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 437,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 10 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has more than $176 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2013. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Morningstar, Inc. is not an NRSRO and its credit ratings on corporate and municipal issuers are not NRSRO credit ratings.

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Media Contact:
Michelle Weiss, +1 267-960-6014 or michelle.weiss@morningstar.com

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.