Credit Spreads Pro Update: Credit Spread & Rating Tools

Daniel Dinnebier

13.9.25

Director of Valuation and Transfer Pricing at smartZebra GmbH, specializing in valuation data, transfer pricing, SaaS, and startups.

The correct determination of interest rates and credit spreads is crucial for your work – whether in IFRS accounting, loan valuation, or the preparation of transfer pricing documentation. The Credit Spreads Pro product now offers you three new specialized tools that significantly simplify these tasks and save you valuable time. We – smartZebra – developed the tools in collaboration with experts from auditing, financial administration, and fund management to provide you maximum practical relevance. Our focus was on enabling you to determine your data efficiently and precisely, without having to build complex models yourself.

Keywords

Cash Pooling

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

Arm’s Length Principle

Peer Group Selection

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)

Loan Valuation

Credit Risk

Loan Valuation

In this article

Credit Spreads Pro now brings together market-based credit spread data, rating analytics and arm’s length interest rate determination in one platform. Designed for transfer pricing, IFRS accounting and corporate finance, the product combines 100,000+ corporate bonds with transparent methodologies and export-ready documentation to support audit-ready valuations.

‍

Three specialized tools for credit Spread & interest rate analysis

1) Peer-group Credit Spreads: Build market-based credit benchmarks

With this tool, you can determine credit spreads for individually compiled peer groups. You can choose from an extensive database with more than 2,000 rated companies and over 25,000 bonds for each historical observation date. The selection can be refined using 130+ subsectors, enabling highly comparable peer groups for transfer pricing, valuation and financing analyses. Historical observations allow you to monitor how credit spreads and market-implied credit risk have evolved over time.

2) Industry Credit Spreads: Benchmark by sector, rating & maturity

Determine market-based credit spreads by industry, credit rating, currency and maturity. With coverage across 20 industries, major global currencies and maturities from 1 to 30 years, the tool supports the determination of arm’s length interest rates for domestic and cross-border financing. Country-specific risk-free curves ensure regionally consistent discount rates.

3) Rating & Credit Spreads: Determine interest rates for unrated companies

This tool closes one of the biggest practical gaps in credit spread analysis: determining market-based interest rates for unrated companies. Based on commonly used quantitative and qualitative credit metrics, the tool derives an implied credit rating which can then be linked directly to observable market credit spreads. This is particularly valuable for transfer pricing analyses, shareholder loans and SME valuations where no external credit rating exists.

Loan Valuation · Credit Spreads Pro

Arm’s-length interest rates, rated and documented

Credit Spreads Pro combines a rating tool, yield curves and a database of 100,000+ corporate bonds.

Try it free

‍

Professional applications across transfer pricing, IFRS & corporate finance

The new tools support you in numerous application areas:

IFRS Accounting: Determine discount rates and credit spreads for IFRS 3 (Purchase Price Allocation), IFRS 9 (Financial Instruments), IFRS 13 (Fair Value Measurement) and IFRS 16 (Leases).
Group Financing: Support market-based pricing of shareholder loans, guarantees and other intra-group financing arrangements.
Transfer Pricing: Produce robust documentation for OECD-compliant financial transactions and arm’s length interest rate analyses.
Loan Valuation: Support discounted cash flow valuations of loans, debt instruments and fixed-income portfolios.

‍

Transparent methodology & audit-ready documentation

All tools provide full transparency regarding the underlying methodology, market data and calculation logic. Exportable PDF reports document assumptions, inputs and results, making analyses suitable for internal reviews, auditors and tax authorities. Market data is updated regularly to ensure current market conditions are reflected:

Bond prices: monthly
Treasury curves: monthly
Credit ratings: quarterly
Equity prices: daily

For further information and to request a trial access, please visit: Database for arm’s length interest rates: Reliable reference values for loans and transfer pricing.

Most Recent Posts

Questions & Answers

What is Credit Spreads Pro?

Credit Spreads Pro is smartZebra’s database for determining market-based credit spreads, implied credit ratings and arm’s length interest rates. It supports transfer pricing, IFRS reporting and corporate finance applications.

Can I determine interest rates for unrated companies?

Yes. The Rating & Credit Spreads tool Credit Spreads Pro derives an implied credit rating from company-specific credit metrics and links it to observable market credit spreads, allowing users to estimate market-based financing conditions even when no external rating exists.

Which standards does Credit Spreads Pro support?

The platform supports common valuation and accounting applications, including IFRS 3, IFRS 9, IFRS 13, IFRS 16, OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and corporate finance valuation workflows.

Which data sources are used for credit spread benchmarking?

Credit Spreads Pro uses a database of more than 100,000 corporate bonds together with government yield curves, issuer ratings, sector classifications, and historical market data to determine market-based credit spreads

How is a credit spread calculated, even for a company without an external rating?

A credit spread is the yield difference between a corporate bond and a risk-free reference of the same maturity and currency, usually the German Bund or euro swap curve. Without an external rating, a synthetic rating is derived from ratios such as interest cover and net debt/EBITDA. Comparable bonds are then filtered by rating, maturity, currency and seniority, and the median spread is applied. The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines 2022 endorse this approach (para. 10.89 f.) and reject bank opinions as a substitute (para. 10.107). smartZebra Credit Spreads Pro covers all three steps with over 100,000 corporate bonds.

How high are credit spreads currently?

Credit spreads depend on rating, maturity, currency and seniority, and they change daily with market conditions. Spreads usually rise as the rating falls. The largest step typically sits between BBB and BB, the boundary between investment grade and high yield. For valuations and transfer pricing documentation, always use the spread at the valuation date, not an average. smartZebra Credit Spreads Pro shows current spreads by rating and maturity, based on over 100,000 corporate bonds.

Credit Spreads Pro Update: Credit Spread & Rating Tools

Three specialized tools for credit Spread & interest rate analysis

1) Peer-group Credit Spreads: Build market-based credit benchmarks

2) Industry Credit Spreads: Benchmark by sector, rating & maturity

3) Rating & Credit Spreads: Determine interest rates for unrated companies

Professional applications across transfer pricing, IFRS & corporate finance

Transparent methodology & audit-ready documentation

Questions & Answers

Tailored For You:

Private Credit: to call or not to call, that is the question | FRIDAY DIGEST

When Does the Profit Split Method Beat the TNMM? The Fifth OECD Method

Who Earns the Return From an Intangible? DEMPE Under OECD Chapter VI

How Should a Cash Pool Be Priced? Cash Pooling Under OECD Chapter X