The PPF appointed D&B as their sole insolvency risk provider because we believe that D&B’s credit scoring method provides a comprehensive and sound quantitative assessment of risk.

It is inappropriate to compare the D&B Failure score with any other agency’s credit measure; credit rating agencies usually measure default rather than insolvency risk.

It is an insolvency event that will trigger the PPF assessment period and therefore risk of insolvency that the Board is required by legislation to consider. Although default is often a pre-cursor to insolvency, an insolvency event does not always follow a company defaulting. By using the probability of default the PPF could be over estimating the amount of levy needed to be collected. Similarly available credit ratings might not necessarily assess the sponsoring employer, which is this specific entity that the PPF is required to consider.