FTSE Group says it has reached a 'preliminary agreement' with Barra that will retain the distribution of its data by the US risk technology vendor.
The statement by FTSE follows an announcement two weeks ago that it had been unable to reach an agreement with Barra - which is now owned by Morgan Stanley - over the distribution of its indices. At the time FTSE said from 1 November, Barra users will no longer be able to access FTSE data direct from Barra products.
But in today's statement, FTSE says it has reached an agreement that will grant Barra continued rights to use and redistribute its indices and to utilise FTSE data in the construction of its risk models, although the 'preliminary understanding' is subject to reaching a full contractual agreement.
FTSE says certain aspects of the current contractual arrangements between itself, Barra and their mutual clients will change under the new agreement, although these changes were not disclosed.