The following terms, abbreviations and acronyms are used to identify frequently used terms in this report:


TERM		DEFINITION


Adjusted Operating Income		Operating income excluding restructuring, depreciation and amortization and a goodwill impairment charge

Adjusted Operating Margin		Adjusted Operating Income divided by revenue

Amba		Amba Investment Services; a provider of investment research and quantitative analytics for global financial institutions; a subsidiary of the Company acquired 100% of Amba in December 2013.

Americas		Represents countries within North and South America, excluding the U.S.

AOCI		Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss); a separate component of shareholders’ equity (deficit); includes accumulated gains & losses on cash flow and net investment hedges, certain gains and losses relating to pension and other retirement benefits obligations and foreign currency translation adjustments.

ASC		The FASB Accounting Standards Codification; the sole source of authoritative
ASC		GAAP as of July 1, 2009 except for rules and interpretive releases of the SEC, which are also sources of authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants

Asia-Pacific		Represents countries in Asia also including but not limited to: Australia and its proximate islands, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand

ASU		The FASB Accounting Standards Updates to the ASC. It also provides background information for accounting guidance and the bases for conclusions on the changes in the ASC. ASUs are not considered authoritative until codified into the ASC

Basel II		Capital adequacy framework published in June 2004 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

Basel III		A new global regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy and liquidity agreed by the members of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Basel III was developed in a response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the global financial crisis. Basel III strengthens bank capital requirements and introduces new regulatory requirements on bank liquidity and bank leverage.
Basel III
Board		The board of directors of the Company

BPS		Basis points

Canary Wharf Lease		Operating lease agreement entered into on February 6, 2008 for office space in London, England, occupied by the Company in the second half of 2009

CFG		Corporate finance group; an LOB of MIS

CLO		Collateralized loan obligation

CMBS		Commercial mortgage-backed securities; part of CREF

Commission		European Commission

Common Stock		The Company’s common stock


Company		Moody’s Corporation and its subsidiaries; MCO; Moody’s

Copal		Copal Partners; an acquisition completed in November 2011; part of the MA segment; leading provider of outsourced research and analytical services to institutional investors


Copal Amba		Operating segment created in January 2014 that consists of all operations from Copal as well as the operations of Amba. The Copal Amba operating segment provides outsourced research and analytical services to the global financial and corporate sectors


Council		Council of the European Union

COSO		Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission

CP		Commercial paper

CRAs		Credit rating agencies

CRA1		Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing an oversight regime for the CRA industry in the EU

CRA2		Regulation (EC) No 513/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which transferred direct supervisory responsibility of the registered CRA industry in the EU to ESMA

CRA3		Regulation (EC) No 462/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which updated the regulatory regimes imposing additional procedural requirements on CRAs



CREF		Commercial real estate finance which includes REITs, commercial real estate collateralized debt obligations and CMBS; part of SFG

CSI		CSI Global Education, Inc.; an acquisition completed in November 2010; part of the MA segment; a provider of financial learning, credentials, and certification in Canada

D&A		Depreciation & amortization

D&B Business		Old D&B’s Dun & Bradstreet operating company

DBPPs		Defined benefit pension plans

DCF		Discounted cash flow; a fair value calculation methodology whereby future projected cash flows are discounted back to their present value

Debt/EBITDA		Ratio of Total Debt to EBITDA

Directors’ Plan		The 1998 Moody’s Corporation Non-Employee Directors’ Stock Incentive Plan

Distribution Date		September 30, 2000; the date which Old D&B separated into two publicly traded companies – Moody’s Corporation and New D&B

EBITDA		Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization


ECB		European Central Bank


EMEA		Represents countries within Europe, the Middle East and Africa

EPS		Earnings per share
ERS		The enterprise risk solutions LOB within MA; offers risk management software products as well as software implementation services and related risk management advisory engagements
ERS
ESMA		European Securities and Market Authority
ESMA		European Securities and Market Authority
ESP		Estimated Selling Price; estimate of selling price, as defined in the ASC, at which the vendor would transact if the deliverable were sold by the vendor regularly on a stand-alone basis
ESP
ESPP		The 1999 Moody’s Corporation Employee Stock Purchase Plan
ETR		Effective tax rate
Equilibrium		A leading provider of credit rating and research services in Peru and Panama; acquired by Moody’s in May 2015

EU		European Union

EUR		Euros

European Ratings Platform		Central credit ratings website administered by ESMA

Excess Tax Benefit		The difference between the tax benefit realized at exercise of an option or delivery of a restricted share and the tax benefit recorded at the time that the option or restricted share is expensed under GAAP

Exchange Act		The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
FASB		Financial Accounting Standards Board

FIG		Financial institutions group; an LOB of MIS

Fitch		Fitch Ratings, a part of the Fitch Group
Financial Reform Act		Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Free Cash Flow		Net cash provided by operating activities less cash paid for capital additions

FSTC		Financial Services Training and Certifications; a reporting unit within the MA segment that includes on-line and classroom-based training services and CSI

FX		Foreign exchange

GAAP		U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GBP		British pounds

GDP		Gross domestic product

ICRA		ICRA Limited; a leading provider of credit ratings and research in India. The Company previously held 28.5% equity ownership and in June 2014, increased that ownership stake to just over 50% through the acquisition of additional shares

ICRA Acquisition		The June 2014 purchase of an additional ownership interest in ICRA resulting in a majority ownership and consolidated of ICRAs financial statements; ICRAs results are consolidated into Moody’s financial statements on a three-month lag and accordingly the Company began including the results of operations for ICRA in its consolidated financial statements beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014


ICRA Gain		Gain relating to the step-acquisition of ICRA; U.S. GAAP requires the remeasurement to fair value of the previously held non-controlling shares upon obtaining a controlling interest in a step-acquisition. This remeasurement of the Company’s equity investment in ICRA to fair value resulted in a pre-tax gain of $102.8 million ($78.5 million after tax) in the second quarter of 2014


Intellectual Property		The Company’s intellectual property, including but not limited to proprietary information, trademarks, research, software tools and applications, models and methodologies, databases, domain names, and other proprietary materials

IRS		Internal Revenue Service
IT	Information technology

KIS	Korea Investors Service, Inc.; a leading Korean rating agency and consolidated subsidiary of the Company

KIS Pricing	Korea Investors Service Pricing, Inc.; a Korean provider of financial instruments pricing and consolidated subsidiary of the Company
KIS Pricing
KIS Research	Korea Investors Service Research; a Korean provider of financial research and consolidated subsidiary of the Company

Korea	Republic of South Korea

Legacy Tax Matter(s)	Exposures to certain potential tax liabilities assumed in connection with the 2000 Distribution

Lewtan	Lewtan Technologies; a leading provider of analytical tools and data for the global structured finance market; part of the RD&A LOB within MA; an acquisition completed in October 2014

LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate

LOB	Line of Business

MA	Moody’s Analytics – a reportable segment of MCO formed in January 2008 which provides a wide range of products and services that support financial analysis and risk management activities of institutional participants in global financial markets.

M&A	Mergers and acquisitions


Make Whole Amount	The prepayment penalty relating to the Series 2007-1 Notes, 2010 Senior Notes, 2012 Senior Notes, 2013 Senior Notes, 2014 Senior Notes (5-year), 2014 Senior Notes (30-year) and the 2015 Senior Notes; a premium based on the excess, if any, of the discounted value of the remaining scheduled payments over the prepaid principal

MCO	Moody’s Corporation and its subsidiaries; the Company; Moody’s

MD&A	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

MIS	Moody’s Investors Service – a reportable segment of MCO; consists of five LOBs – SFG, CFG, FIG, PPIF and MIS Other

MIS Other	Consists of non-ratings revenue from ICRA, KIS Pricing and KIS Research. These businesses are components of MIS; an LOB of MIS

	Moody’s Corporation and its subsidiaries; MCO; the Company
Moody’s
	Net income attributable to Moody’s Corporation, which excludes net income from consolidated entities belonging to the minority interest holder
Net Income

New D&B	The New D&B Corporation – which comprises the D&B business after September 30, 2000


Non-GAAP	A financial measure not in accordance with GAAP; these measures, when read in conjunction with the Company’s reported results, can provide useful supplemental information for investors analyzing period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s performance, facilitate comparisons to competitors’ operating results and to provide greater transparency to investors of supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making.

NM	Percentage change not meaningful



NRSRO	Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization
NRSRO	Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization
OCI	Other comprehensive income (loss); includes gains and losses on cash flow and net investment hedges, certain gains and losses relating to pension and other retirement benefit obligations and foreign currency translation adjustments
OCI
Old D&B	The former Dun and Bradstreet Company which distributed New D&B shares on September 30, 2000, and was renamed Moody’s Corporation
Old D&B
Other Retirement Plans	The U.S. retirement healthcare and U.S. retirement life insurance plans

PPIF	Public, project and infrastructure finance; an LOB of MIS

Profit Participation Plan	Defined contribution profit participation plan that covers substantially all U.S. employees of the Company

PPP	Profit Participation Plan

PS	Professional Services; an LOB within MA that provides outsourced research and analytical services as well as financial training and certification programs

RD&A	Research, Data and Analytics; an LOB within MA that produces, sells and distributes research, data and related content. Includes products generated by MIS, such as analyses on major debt issuers, industry studies, and commentary on topical credit events, as well as economic research, data, quantitative risk scores, and other analytical tools that are produced within MA
RD&A
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest	Represents minority shareholders’ interest in entities which are controlled but not wholly-owned by Moody’s and for which Moody’s obligation to redeem the minority shareholders’ interest is represented by a put/call relationship

Reform Act	Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006

REITs	Real estate investment trusts

Relationship Revenue	Represents MIS recurring monitoring of a rated debt obligation and/or entities that issue such obligations, as well as revenue from programs such as commercial paper, medium-term notes and shelf registrations. For MIS Other represents subscription-based revenue. For MA, represents subscription-based revenue and software maintenance revenue.



Retirement Plans	Moody’s funded and unfunded pension plans, the healthcare plans and life insurance plans

RMBS	Residential mortgage-backed securities; part of SFG

S&P	Standard & Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill Financial, Inc.

SEC	Securities and Exchange Commission

Securities Act	Securities Act of 1933

Series 2005-1 Notes	Principal amount of $300 million, 4.98% senior unsecured notes; notes were paid in 2014 in advance of their contractual maturity date
Series 2007-1 Notes	Principal amount of $300 million, 6.06% senior unsecured notes due in September 2017 pursuant to the 2007 Agreement

SFG	Structured finance group; an LOB of MIS

SG&A	Selling, general and administrative expenses

SIV	Structured Investment Vehicle

Solvency II	EU directive 2009/138/EC that codifies the amount of capital that EU insurance companies must hold to reduce insolvency

Stock Plans	The Old D&B’s 1998 Key Employees’ Stock Incentive Plan and the Restated 2001 Moody’s Corporation Key Employees’ Stock Incentive Plan

Total Debt	All indebtedness of the Company as reflected on the consolidated balance sheets

TPE	Third party evidence, as defined in the ASC, used to determine selling price based on a vendor’s or any competitor’s largely interchangeable products or services in standalone sales transactions to similarly situated customers

Transaction Revenue	For MIS, represents the initial rating of a new debt issuance as well as other one-time fees. For MIS Other, represents revenue from professional services and outsourcing engagements. For MA, represents software license fees and revenue from risk management advisory projects, training and certification services, and outsourced research and analytical engagements
U.K.	United Kingdom

U.S.	United States


U.S. Shared National Credit Program	Interagency program designed to evaluate large and complex syndicated credits. The program is administered by the three federal banking regulatory agencies which include the Federal Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

USD	U.S. dollar


UTBs	Unrecognized tax benefits

UTPs	Uncertain tax positions
VSOE	Vendor specific objective evidence; evidence, as defined in the ASC, of selling price limited to either of the following: the price charged for a deliverable when it is sold separately, or for a deliverable not yet being sold separately, the price established by management having the relevant authority
WACC	Weighted average cost of capital

WebEquity	WebEquity Solutions LLC; a leading provider of cloud-based loan origination solutions for financial institutions; part of the ERS LOB within MA; an acquisition completed in July 2014

1998 Plan	Old D&B’s 1998 Key Employees’ Stock Incentive Plan
2000 Distribution	The distribution by Old D&B to its shareholders of all of the outstanding shares of New D&B common stock on September 30, 2000

2000 Distribution	Agreement governing certain ongoing relationships between the Company and New D&B after the 2000 Distribution including the sharing of any liabilities for the payment of taxes, penalties and interest resulting from unfavorable IRS determinations on certain tax matters and certain other potential tax liabilities
Agreement

2001 Plan	The Amended and Restated 2001 Moody’s Corporation Key Employees’ Stock Incentive Plan

2005 Agreement	Note purchase agreement dated September 30, 2005 relating to the Series 2005-1 Notes

2007 Agreement	Note purchase agreement dated September 7, 2007 relating to the Series 2007-1 Notes

2007 Facility	Revolving credit facility of $1 billion entered into on September 28, 2007, expiring in 2012


2010 Indenture	Supplemental indenture and related agreements dated August 19, 2010, relating to the 2010 Senior Notes

2010 Senior Notes	Principal amount of $500.0 million, 5.50% senior unsecured notes due in September 2020 pursuant to the 2010 Indenture

2012 Facility	Revolving credit facility of $1 billion entered into on April 18, 2012, was replaced with the 2015 Facility

2012 Indenture	Supplemental indenture and related agreements dated August 18, 2012, relating to the 2012 Senior Notes


2012 Senior Notes	Principal amount of $500 million, 4.50% senior unsecured notes due in September 2022 pursuant to the 2012 Indenture

2013 Indenture	Supplemental indenture and related agreements dated August 12, 2013, relating to the 2013 Senior Notes

2013 Senior Notes	Principal amount of $500 million, 4.875% senior unsecured notes due in February 2024 pursuant to the 2013 Indenture

	Supplemental indenture and related agreements dated July 16, 2014, relating to the 2014 Senior Notes
2014 Indenture
	Principal amount of $450 million, 2.75% senior unsecured notes due in July 2019
2014 Senior Notes (5- Year)

2014 Senior Notes (30-Year)	Principal amount of $600 million, 5.25% senior unsecured notes due in July 2044


2015 Facility	Five-year unsecured revolving credit facility, with capacity to borrow up to $1 billion; replaces the 2012 Facility

2015 Indenture	Supplemental indenture and related agreements dated March 9, 2015, relating to the 2015 Senior Notes

2015 Senior Notes	Principal amount €500 million, 1.75% senior unsecured notes issued March 9, 2015 and due in March 2027

7WTC	The Company’s corporate headquarters located at 7 World Trade Center

7WTC Lease	Operating lease agreement entered into on October 20, 2006