Bureau van Dijk
Global company data and beneficial-ownership database, now Moody's Orbis, used for KYC and risk checks.
On the record
Checkpoint: Moody's Analytics Q1 2026 earnings commentary on Orbis/KYC growth and margins
The call
Owned by Moody's since 2017, Bureau van Dijk's Orbis data now powers Moody's own AI tools instead of being threatened by outside ones.
Bureau van Dijk, now called Moody's Orbis, collects and sells information about 580 million companies and their owners from around the world. Competitors like Dun & Bradstreet and Refinitiv do similar work, but Orbis has a real advantage: three decades of licensed data from official sources that took years to build and costs a lot to copy. AI companies like OpenAI could theoretically try to build a competitor, but banks and insurance firms legally need auditable, proven data to avoid fines, so they stick with licensed suppliers. The one thing to watch is whether AI tools that help Orbis analysts work faster end up shrinking the number of workers they need, which could pressure profit margins.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. Moody's builds AI tools like Research Assistant and Maxsight on top of Orbis data rather than being replaced by outside AI. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Dun & Bradstreet, S&P Capital IQ, LSEG/Refinitiv, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Rivals sell similar KYC and company data tools, but none has publicly shown an AI product pulling enterprise clients off Orbis. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Licensed data from 170+ providers on 580 million entities, built over 30 years, plus regulatory trust that makes switching costly for banks.
What would change this call
Moody's Analytics quarterly earnings cite Orbis/KYC growth rate or margin trends. Shows whether the licensed-data moat is holding or under margin pressure.
D&B, LexisNexis, S&P Global, or LSEG launches a scaled AI-native KYC/compliance product. Would indicate a peer incumbent directly challenging Orbis for enterprise share.
Governments expand mandatory public beneficial-ownership registries with open data access. Would erode the licensed-provider data advantage underlying Orbis's moat.
D&B, LexisNexis, S&P Global, or LSEG launches a scaled AI-native KYC/compliance product. Would indicate a peer incumbent directly challenging Orbis for enterprise share.
Governments expand mandatory public beneficial-ownership registries with open data access. Would erode the licensed-provider data advantage underlying Orbis's moat.
Key numbers
- Moody's paid €3.0 billion for BvD
- Orbis covers 580+ million entities
- BvD 2016 revenue was $281 million
Named risks
- Brand and org disruption as BvD name is phased out into Moody's branding through 2025-2026.
- Government-mandated open beneficial-ownership registries could commoditize licensed data moat over time.
- Seat-based subscription revenue compression as AI agents automate per-analyst lookup workflows.
- Recurring breach-monitoring resurfacing of 2021 Orbis customer export leak could affect client trust.
- No independent financial disclosure since 2017 makes current Orbis/KYC performance hard to verify externally.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Dun & Bradstreet | contesting | Both compete for enterprise business-credit and compliance data wallet share; no visible share loss reported as of 2025-2026 |
| S&P Capital IQ | contesting | Rival enterprise data/analytics platform; Moody's Orbis remains entrenched leader per 2025-2026 evidence |
| LSEG/Refinitiv (World-Check) | contesting | Competes directly in sanctions/PEP screening and KYC data against Moody's Maxsight, launched Feb 2025 |
| LexisNexis Risk Solutions | contesting | Overlapping KYC/AML compliance data market; Moody's won 2025 Datos Insights AML award vs field |
| OpenCorporates | gaining on | Open beneficial-ownership registries could erode licensing moat if government mandates expand data access |
Questions people ask
- Is Bureau van Dijk still an independent company?
- No. Bureau van Dijk has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Moody's Corporation since the acquisition closed on August 10, 2017. Its own website now states 'BvD is now Moody's,' and the brand is being folded into Moody's Orbis and Moody's Analytics products as of 2025.
- How much did Moody's pay for Bureau van Dijk?
- Moody's Corporation agreed on May 15, 2017 to acquire Bureau van Dijk from EQT VI for an enterprise value of about 3.0 billion euros (roughly 3.27 billion dollars). The deal closed August 10, 2017, per Moody's investor relations press releases.
- Could AI replace Bureau van Dijk's Orbis database?
- Unlikely soon. Orbis's moat is a licensed, curated dataset covering 580+ million entities from 170+ data providers built over decades, which LLMs cannot independently generate. Moody's is instead layering AI on top via Research Assistant (Dec 2023) and Agentic Solutions (Sept 16, 2025) rather than being displaced by it.
- Who are Bureau van Dijk's biggest competitors?
- Orbis competes with Dun & Bradstreet, S&P Capital IQ, LSEG/Refinitiv World-Check, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions in enterprise company data and KYC/AML screening, plus smaller players like Creditsafe, Creditreform, and open registries like OpenCorporates.
- What happened with the Bureau van Dijk data breach reports?
- A 2024 threat-actor claim of a breach on Bureau van Dijk was denied by Moody's, which stated there was 'no evidence... compromise... has occurred' (April 25, 2024). Separately, a confirmed August 2021 leak of about 27.9 million records from a customer's Orbis export continues to surface in breach-monitoring services through 2024-2026.
- How many entities does Moody's Orbis (Bureau van Dijk) cover?
- As of June 19, 2025, Orbis covers 580 million or more entities, sourced from 170 or more licensed information providers, up from an estimated 220 to 400 million entities in earlier years, according to BvD's own website.
Timeline
- 2026-06-17Moody's launches decision-grade AI skills for Microsoft 365 Copilot and other AI platforms
- 2025-09-16Moody's Agentic Solutions launched, adding AI agents for credit, KYC and sales intelligence
- 2025-06-19BvD's own website declares 'BvD is now Moody's,' signaling brand phase-out
- 2025-02-05Moody's launches Maxsight unified risk platform incorporating Orbis data
- 2024-04-25Moody's denies threat-actor claim of a breach on Bureau van Dijk
- 2023-12Moody's Research Assistant launches, reaching 115+ clients within weeks
- 2023-04Zephyr M&A product formally replaced by Orbis M&A
- 2021-08Leak of ~27.9 million records from an Orbis customer export later surfaces in breach monitors
- 2017-08-10Moody's completes acquisition of Bureau van Dijk from EQT VI
- 2017-05-15Moody's agrees to acquire Bureau van Dijk for enterprise value of about 3.0 billion euros
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Moody's to Acquire Bureau van Dijk (2017-05-14)
- Moody's Completes Acquisition of Bureau van Dijk (2017-08-09)
- Bureau van Dijk Company Profile (2017-08-09)
- BvD is now Moody's (2025-06-19)
- A Moody's Company Revenue, Funding & Valuation
- Bureau van Dijk -> Overview (2026-01-23)
- Leading the AI shift (2025-07-30)
- Maxsight platform launch reference (2025-02-05)
- Datos Insights 2025 Impact Awards in AML
- Unlock peak performance, powered by Moody's Agentic Solutions (2025-09-16)
- Moody's launches decision-grade AI skills for major AI platforms (2026-06-25)
- From Manual Reports to Generative and Agentic AI Automation in Finance (2026-07-09)