Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on MoneyGram International (MoneyGram) are based on the company's solid position in the growing remittance market, its low leverage, and its relatively low exposure to credit and liquidity risk in its core money transfer business. Offsetting rating factors include the company's regulatory exposure, market risk of its float investment portfolio, and agent/client concentration. MoneyGram has a solid position in the growing remittance market, which has experienced an expansion rate in the high single digits since 2000. MoneyGram's money transfer franchise consists of approximately 138,000 agent locations, second only to market leader Western Union. Robust remittance market growth has been attributable to increased worldwide migration, as people move outside their countries of origin in search
