SNL Securities shares database with U.Va.

By Charlotte Crystal

Charlottesville-based SNL Securities, a high-tech research and publishing company that specializes in the financial services industry, will grant three years of access to its online database, Data Source, to U.Va. business and engineering students, in a gift valued at more than $1 million.

Data Source, a data bank of information on banks, thrifts, insurance companies and real estate investment trusts, is relied upon by many of the country's top financial analysts and institutional investors who need up-to-the-minute information to manage multi-billion-dollar investment portfolios.

SNL data will be used for both research and teaching. Engineering students will be able to study data mining, database management and related subjects, as will business students, who also will conduct related studies in finance and economics. Computer servers will relay data from the company's central database to the Engineering and Commerce schools, which in turn will make the material available to students at the Darden School.

SNL currently employs about 250 people, one-third of them U.Va. alumni. "We hope this gift will serve as an effective research and teaching tool and demonstrate our commitment to the University," said Reid Nagle, SNL founder and president.