CreditMetrics was introduced in 1997 by J.P. Morgan and its co-sponsors (Bank of America, Union Bank of Switzerland) as a value at risk (VAR) framework to apply to the valuation and risk of nontradable assets such as loans and privately placed bonds. Thus, while RiskMetrics seeks to answer the question, ‘‘If tomorrow is a bad day, how much will I lose on tradable assets such as stocks and bonds?’’ CreditMetrics asks, ‘‘If next year is a bad year, how will I lose on my loans and loan portfolio?’’