Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. said it opened a London office to serve European debt issuers, investors, and banks.
The office will be run by Paul Taylor, former director of Standard & Poor's Corp.'s structured finance group in Europe.
Duff & Phelps said the London office would initially focus on evaluating structured-finance transactions that are brought to market by European-based issuers, primarily major banks and other lending institutions.
These transactions are expected to consist of residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans which are packaged and sold as securities.