Regulatory capital calculation product of the year: S&P Global Market Intelligence

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As the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) implementation gathers pace across major jurisdictions, banks face mounting pressure to enhance their market risk infrastructures, validate risk models and prepare for supervisory approval processes. In this demanding environment, S&P Global Market Intelligence has been recognised for its Traded Market Risk Solution, winning Regulatory capital calculation product of the year at the Risk Technology Awards 2025.

The FRTB regulation, which introduces stringent rules regarding the internal models approach (IMA), profit-and-loss attribution and the ‘modellability’ of risk factors, has significantly raised the bar for regulatory capital calculation. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Traded Market Risk Solution seeks to reduce the implementation burden for banks by providing out-of-the-box support for both the standardised approach (SA) and IMA. In doing so, it allows banks to explore the trade-offs between regulatory compliance and capital optimisation in real time.

Judges said:

• “Good, strong product.”
• “The product is well utilised in the market.”
• “Built on sound risk management principles.”

The platform offers capabilities across modellability assessment, scenario generation, capital analytics and stress-testing – all designed to work across both SA and IMA. That combination has enabled banks to assess regulatory capital across multiple jurisdictions, consolidate risk frameworks and engage more effectively with regulators.

The modellability service stands out for its depth. It combines real-price observation data with configurable analytics, allowing banks to assess whether risk factors meet the modellability thresholds that determine their capital treatment under FRTB. The service is used not only by banks but increasingly by regulators, reflecting its robustness and market relevance.

Scenario generation is another area in which the solution has demonstrated strength. The platform supports historical pricing time-series creation, proxy selection and gap-filling – functions that are critical for firms building compliant stress-testing frameworks under FRTB. S&P Global Market Intelligence has also built in a scripting language that offers flexibility while maintaining governance, supporting regulatory and internal use cases.

Capital analytics form the third pillar of the system, offering firms a complete view of their capital requirements across desks and at group level. The platform supports drill-down analysis and integrates smoothly with existing pricing and risk infrastructures. Importantly, it allows banks to run comparative analyses between SA and IMA, providing transparency on capital drivers and supporting more informed decision-making.

S&P Global Market Intelligence has continued to expand the depth of its datasets, with enhanced real-price observations across interest rate, credit, equity, foreign exchange and fixed income derivatives. It has also developed a dedicated SA module for banks not pursuing IMA approval – an increasingly important capability as many firms rely on SA either in full or hybrid form.

The cloud-native design and application programming interface-first architecture allow clients to integrate the solution with their existing systems, reducing the cost and disruption of implementation. It also enables S&P Global Market Intelligence to respond quickly to regulatory changes, supporting banks in adjusting to evolving interpretations across different jurisdictions.

Another area of growth is the alignment of capital calculation efforts across overlapping frameworks. By fostering synergies between FRTB expected shortfall, historical value-at-risk and the standard initial margin model, the product offers cost and operational efficiencies that banks increasingly need as they manage risk across multiple silos. Additionally, the onboarding of regulators themselves onto S&P Global Market Intelligence’s modellability service demonstrates the solution’s credibility and influence in shaping regulatory understanding.

The platform supports dialogue between banks and supervisors. Firms are using the solution not just to meet compliance requirements, but to explore the upstream data and modelling choices that affect their capital positions. By enabling a clearer understanding of how modelling decisions affect outcomes, the platform is helping institutions prepare for more evidence-based regulatory discussions.

Alberto Micucci, head of sell-side risk solutions at S&P Global Market Intelligence, says:

“We are delighted to win this award, showcasing our commitment to best-in-class solutions. This recognition highlights our Traded Market Risk Solution’s effectiveness in meeting the stringent requirements of FRTB and our dedication to adaptability in changing regulatory environments.

“Our platform’s reliability and accuracy, now increasingly used by regulators, speak to its robustness and market relevance. We aim to empower financial institutions to make informed decisions and engage effectively with supervisors. This award is a testament to our team’s hard work and our focus on delivering exceptional value in the financial services industry.”

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