Markit to use ICB classification
ICB, a four-tier classification system, will be applied to 5,000 credit default swap reference entities and bond issuers; it already covers 40,000 equities.
Under the ICB, entities are classified by industry, supersector, sector and subsector: for example, 'Consumer Goods; Personal & Household Goods; Leisure Goods; Toys'.
Markit already manages the Reference Entity Database, which was set up two years ago to standardise the names of entities and related obligations, making documentation simpler and less ambiguous.
