ABSTRACT
The business aspect of price reporting agencies (PRAs) remains a mystery to many, even to some of those who deal with them daily. PRAs now have at least two aspects to their business, namely: an 'informational role' and a 'benchmarking role'. PRAs are increasingly leveraging their core competencies in order to push into related businesses such as conferences, consultancy, training and data analytics. PRAs typically think in terms of a 'value hierarchy' of services and usage. A flow of regular specialist news should ensure that the customer values their PRA subscription at a premium to a more general news service. Good market analysis can also have a similar impact on how subscribers value their PRA reports. There is also substantial additional revenue to be gained by a PRA if its assessments are used as a settlement price for derivatives. Unlike the traditional news media, the larger PRAs rely on subscription revenue and do not derive significant income from advertising.
