The Hidden Power of Aggregated Data
On Oliver Wyman’s Innovators’ Exchange podcast, Donal Smith, co-founder and Chairman of Credit Benchmark, joins hosts Hiten Patel and Archie Stebbings to discuss the evolving role of data in credit risk assessment and capital markets. It’s a deep dive into the power of contributor-sourced, aggregated data, a model that Credit Benchmark pioneered to bring transparency to the under-served private and mid-sized company segment of the market.
As traditional credit ratings remain out of reach for many firms due to the limitations of the issuer-pays model, Credit Benchmark offers an independent, bank-contributed view of credit risk. Donal reflects on how the firm aggregates and anonymizes internal credit assessments from global banks – data that previously sat siloed within institutions – and delivers consensus insights that are transforming how banks, asset managers, insurers, and corporates understand counterparty risk.
Key Themes Discussed:
Democratizing Credit Risk Data: Why so many firms fall outside the radar of the traditional rating agencies, and how Credit Benchmark fills that gap.
From Data to Decision: How anonymized, aggregated credit views support smarter risk decisions across capital markets, supply chains, and KYC workflows.
AI and the Future: Donal’s thoughts on how AI will reshape data workflows and credit analysis in the years ahead.
Leadership Lessons & Market Perspective
Donal also shares candid reflections from his career building transformative data businesses – from FT.com to Data Explorers – and offers thoughtful commentary on entrepreneurship, patient capital, and what it takes to scale in the global financial data space. His message is clear: valuable data, when shared responsibly, can reshape markets.
“If you aggregate previously disaggregated information, you can create something of genuine value from it.”
