About the PRS Group

prs group, political risk, country risk

Established in 1979, the PRS Group is it among the earliest commercial providers of political and country risk forecasts.

The firm’s risk assessment methodologies came out of the research conducted by two professors at the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University: Professors William Coplin and Michael O’Leary. These two professors worked on behalf of the Maxwell School of Public Affairs in conjunction with the CIA and the U.S. Department of State. In fact, in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, where many foreign firms were nationalized, the importance of their work intensified.

While Iran captured the attention of global businesses in the late 80s, so did the actions of countries like Turkey, which restricted how much money could be taken out of a country to cover global business transactions, thanks to Coplin and O’Leary. In the late 80s, Coplin and O’Leary also predicted that international companies should anticipate a more hostile global business environment, marked by more terrorism and political shifts.

The PRS Group takes pride in being quant driven, with its data back-tested, at least monthly, by the International Monetary Fund or IMF. The methodology used to prepare the PRS International Country Risk Guide is used by researchers at the IMF and has been acclaimed in such publications as Barron’s, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal.

Today, under the ownership and leadership of Dr. Christopher McKee, the PRS Group continues to be the leading global provider of political and country risk assessment information and now FCIB brings PRS country reports to you.

Understanding what lies ahead – be it actions that will help or hurt businesses – is key and
critical to the ability to conduct business globally.

Political Risk Newsletter (PRL)  PRL Sample

The PRL is a monthly newsletter that summarizes the latest forecasts for economic and political changes affecting international business. Each newsletter includes the Political and Economic Forecasts Table, which has 18-month and 5-year forecasts for turmoil, investment, transfer, and export risk in 100 countries. It also provides forecasts of real GDP growth, inflation and current account. Rating changes are included in each issue, giving subscribers an excellent method of tracking changes in the ratings and risk of the countries they are exporting to.

$515 for annual subscription. Contact Rocky Thomas at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 410-707-2699 to order the newsletter today!

Country Reports  Sample Country Report

Country Reports for 100 countries, each report expertly assesses potential political, financial, and economic risks to business investments and trade. Political Risk Services' Country Reports provide risk forecasts and analysis based on the world-renowned Coplin-O'Leary Rating System, the original political risk rating system, including alternative regime scenarios.

Their primary source of the economic data contained in each country’s databank is the IMF. The IMF data is the most reliable, comprehensive, and timely source available for making comparisons between countries; other sources include news sources, regional and technical journals to help PRS track day-to-day events that may necessitate changes in both its databanks and fact sheets.

PRS Country Reports are at a special rate of $250 per report, when ordered through FCIB. This is a savings of $49 per report. Please contact us for a special rate of 10 or more countries ordered at the same time.

Contact Rocky Thomas at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 410-707-2699