Morningstar Credit Analytics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., has launched a suite of enhancements to its commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate (CRE) analytics platform. These updates are designed to enable issuers and investors to conduct credit analysis earlier in the transaction lifecycle, moving from raw loan data to defensible credit assessments.
The enhancements expand Morningstar Credit Analytics’ broader credit modeling framework, which supports consistent credit analysis across both structured and private credit markets. The release introduces CMBS Conduit and Agency Multifamily Credit Models, along with the Single-Asset Single Borrower (SASB) Credit Assessment Tool. These tools provide standardized loan- and pool-level risk measures utilizing methodologies aligned with Morningstar DBRS, a SEC-registered credit rating agency.
Brian Grow, president of Morningstar Credit Analytics, stated, “Issuers and investors are under pressure to make faster decisions with greater confidence, often earlier in the lifecycle of a transaction.” He added, “By combining credit ratings-aligned CMBS credit models with a streamlined Bring Your Own Loans workflow, we aim to give market participants a consistent framework for evaluating credit risk earlier in the process. This same framework is designed to scale across asset classes, supporting credit analysis across both securitized and private credit portfolios.”
The Bring Your Own Loan Analysis (BYOL) workflow is a key component, allowing users to upload internal loan data and process it through Morningstar Credit Analytics’ tools within minutes. The CMBS Conduit and Agency Multifamily Credit Models deliver standardized credit risk measures for loans and pools, including probability of default, loss given default, and expected loss. The SASB Credit Assessment Tool offers quantitative sizing benchmarks for single-asset and large-loan transactions, such as loan-to-value sizing thresholds and indicative capital structure attachment points.
The BYOL workflow validates, standardizes, and geocodes uploaded loan data, benchmarking loans against Morningstar Credit Analytics’ CMBS dataset. Once validated, the loan pool can be analyzed through the Conduit, Agency Multifamily, or SASB frameworks. The underlying analytical framework supporting these structured CRE models also underpins Morningstar Credit Analytics’ private credit modeling capabilities.
Morningstar Credit Analytics’ models leverage quantitative methodologies informed by Morningstar DBRS credit risk frameworks. This alignment is intended to benefit market participants who require analysis that will be relied upon by counterparties, underwriters, or investment committees. Grow concluded, “This launch represents an important step in delivering a scalable credit modeling platform designed for modern credit markets. Our goal is to provide market participants with the tools to evaluate credit risk consistently, whether they are analyzing CMBS transactions, private credit exposures, or broader loan portfolios.”
Morningstar, Inc. is a provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. It offers products and services to individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and institutional investors in debt and private capital markets, among others. As of December 31, 2025, the company’s investment advisory subsidiaries had approximately $378 billion in AUMA. Morningstar Credit provides credit ratings, research, data, and credit analytics solutions, aiming to contribute to the transparency of international and domestic credit markets. Morningstar Credit includes Morningstar DBRS and Morningstar Credit Analytics.
