Fitch upgrades OpVar tool for operational risk

Fitch Risk Management has added a range of new services to its OpVar software suite, an operational risk management quantification tool. Version 5.0, scheduled for release in March, now offers an enhanced data collection module and improved data management processing.

OpVar is the flagship product of OpVantage, a division of Fitch Risk Management. The OpVar software suite allows end-users to collect operational risk data, analyse loss probabilities, scale these losses to their firm and determine operational risk profiles, including operational capital-at-risk.

The new version includes a web-enabled data collection module that enters events into the database. The module notifies, reviews and approves all captured credit events and tracks all historical changes. Improved process data management saves inputs and outputs for value-at-risk modelling directly into a database. And a new curve fitting tool provides enhanced modelling capabilities.

Fitch said it will be incorporating additional new functionality into OpVar over the next several months in response to client and market demands. These include tools to facilitate self-assessment processes, scorecards and control of environment evaluations.

Fitch Risk Management, an affiliate of Fitch Ratings, is a risk management company providing products and services to help financial institutions and other companies manage both credit and operational risk. The OpVar database contains nearly 10,000 publicly reported operational risk losses. OpVar has an installed customer base of more than 20 clients in North America, Europe and Asia, and aims to be compliant with the new Bank for International Settlements' capital Accord requirements, Basel II, due for implementation in late 2006.