Credit Rating Agencies

A credit rating agency is a company which rates the debtors on the basis of their ability to pay back the debt in timely manner. They rate large scale borrowers, whether companies or governments.

Indian Credit Rating Agencies

There are mainly 4 credit rating agencies in India which are

1.    Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd (CRISIL) -     It is a global analytical company providing ratings research, risk and policy advisory services company based in Mumbai. CRISIL's majority shareholder is Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill companies and the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence. CRISIL pioneered ratings in India more than 20 years ago and is today the undisputed business leader with the largest number of rated entities and rating products:  CRISIL ratings has rated over 61000 entities in India including small and medium enterprises. CRISIL's businesses can be divided into three broad categories: Ratings, Research and Advisory   &    CRISIL's businesses operate from 8 countries including Argentina, Poland USA, UK, India, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

2.    International Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) -         It is an Indian independent and professional investment information and credit rating agency. It was established in 1991 and its head office in Gurugram. It is second largest Indian rating company in terms of customer base. It was a joint-venture between Moody's and various Indian commercial banks and financial services companies. It is a public limited company and its head office in New Delhi.

3.    Credit Analysis & Research ltd. (CARE) -     It was setup in 1993 and its head office in Mumbai. CARE is a full service rating company that offers a wide range of rating and grading services across sectors. CARE has an unparalleled depth of expertise. CARE Ratings methodologies are in line with the best international practices. It has established itself as the second-largest credit rating agency in India with the rating volume of debt as Rs. 78.93 lakh crore (as of March 31st, 2016).  CARE is recognized by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Government of India (GOI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) etc. CARE launched a new international credit rating agency ‘ARC Ratings’ with 4 partners from Brazil, Portugal, Malaysia and South Africa.

4.    ONIDA Individual Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd. (ONICRA) -     It is a private sector agency set up by Onida Finance was launched in Nov 1993 and its head office in Gurugram.  Onicra Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd. is one of the leading Credit and Performance Rating agencies in India. It provides ratings, risk assessment and analytical solutions to Individuals, MSMEs and Corporate. It is one of only 7 agencies licensed by NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation) to rate SMEs.