Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) primarily focus on measuring the credit ratings of businesses, enterprises, companies and organizations in India. The agencies report that whether the business entities have an ideal credit rating to avail credit facilities or to be a responsible borrower or not. CRAs analyse your credit risk, based on your past payment behaviour.
These agencies are not to be compared with Credit Information Companies (CICs) or credit bureaus, as CICs calculate and generate credit scores for individuals and Company Credit Reports (CCRs) for businesses and enterprises. Credit score holds all the importance of availing loans and credit cards for individuals, as it is the key component of your credit report.
You can check free credit score to know your creditworthiness and repayment capability to avail credit products, such as credit card, personal loan, home loan, auto loan, etc. Read on for more information related to the currently operating Credit Rating Agencies in India:
Top 7 Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) in India
There are 7 credit rating agencies that are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1999. Below listed are the 7 credit rating agencies operating in India:
- Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. (CRISIL)
- Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA) Ltd.
- Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) Ltd.
- Acuite Ratings & Research Ltd.
- Brickwork Ratings India Private Ltd.
- India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd.
- INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Private Ltd.
Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. (CRISIL)
Established in 1987, CRISIL Ratings Limited (A subsidiary of CRISIL Limited) is a credit rating agency that offers services to lenders, issuers, investors, and market intermediaries and regulators by providing coverage to PSUs, banks, NBFCs, manufacturing companies, state governments, financial institutions, and urban local bodies. The credit ratings generated by CRISIL ranges from Ranks ‘AAA’ to ‘D’, wherein Rank ‘AAA’ is the highest or creditworthy and ‘D’ being the lowest.
Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA) Ltd.
Founded in 1991, ICRA Limited (formerly Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited) is an independent and professional investment Information and Credit Rating Agency that offers credit related information to institutional and individual investors and creditors.
Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) Ltd.
Incorporated in 1993, Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE) is a credit rating agency that covers various industry sectors, such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and financial sector, including banks and non-financial services. Its credit ratings are majorly used by investors to make informed decisions on the basis of credit risk and risk-return expectations.
Acuite Ratings & Research Ltd.
Acuite Ratings & Research Limited (Formerly known as SMERA Ratings Limited) is a SEBI registered and RBI accredited credit rating agency that offers credit ratings to companies serving structured finance, corporate and financial sectors. The credit rating agency offers services to companies serving various market sectors, including retail, banking, IT & ITes, telecom, steel, aviation, oil and gas, etc.
Brickwork Ratings India Pvt. Ltd.
Brickwork Ratings (BWR) is a RBI licensed and SEBI registered CRA that provides credit rating services on fixed deposits, bank loans, non-convertible debentures (NCD), commercial and securitised papers, security receipts, etc. The agency offers credit ratings to state and local governments, banks, financial institutions and large corporate customers.
India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd.
India Ratings and Research is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group. The company is one of the leading credit rating agencies that offers credit rating services to banks, insurance companies, corporate issuers, finance and leasing companies, urban local bodies and managed funds, structured finance and project finance companies.
INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Pvt. Ltd.
Integrated Financial Omnibus Metrics Research of International Corporate Systems (INFOMERICS)
INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Private Limited is a full service-rating agency that offers credit rating services for a wide range of money and capital market instruments. Infomerics is an SEBI registered and RBI accredited Credit Rating Agency that generates credit ratings for Banks, NBFCs, Large Corporates and Small and Medium Scale Units (SMUs).
Conclusion:
Credit Rating is an analysis of credit risks related to a financial entity. It depicts the creditworthiness of an enterprise as a borrower. Credit Rating Agencies analyse the payback capabilities of a borrower company in the form of credit ratings. Credit ratings are depicted in range from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’, wherein ‘AAA’ is the highest with least chances of default by the enterprise and ‘D’ stands for the lowest or near default. Try maintaining your company’s rating to the highest or as close to ‘AAA’ to become your lender’s favourite borrower.