Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service has launched a new service aimed at providing greater transparency on the performance of structured credit products, in the wake of severe criticism of the ratings industry for failing to flag the advancing sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Moody's said its new Performance Data Services provides European investors with an "early warning system" allowing them to detect risks and track the performance trends of bonds backed by residential mortgages, the type of security that is at the core of the credit crisis.