Credit Rating Agencies India 

If you want to know how many credit rating agencies are there in India and who regulates credit rating agencies in India, this article is for you.

It is common to confuse the functions of credit rating agencies and credit bureaus, as both rate creditworthiness. However, the major difference is that credit rating agencies focus on analyzing big companies and organizations, NGOs, and state or local governments. Whereas, credit bureaus report the creditworthiness of individuals.

Apart from this, credit rating agencies rate from ‘AAA’ to ‘D’ while credit bureaus report credit scores that range from 300 to 900.

Top Credit Rating Agencies in India

This section will talk about how many credit rating agencies are there in India. Here are the top 5 credit rating agencies functional in India - 

1. Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. (CRISIL)

Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited or CRISIL, an S&P Global company was started in 1987. It commenced its operations in January, 1988 making it one of the oldest credit rating agencies in India. 

It covers automobile, industrial, financial, IT, media, travel, health, and retail sectors among others. CRISIL is headquartered in Mumbai, India but also operates in the USA, UK, Hong Kong, China, Argentina, and Poland. 

CRISIL’s Registered Office Address:

CRISIL Limited, CRISIL House, Central Avenue,
Hiranandani Business Park, Powai
Mumbai – 400076
Tel: + 91 (22) 33423000
Fax: + 91 (22) 33423810
Email: info@crisil.com

Customer Care: +1800 267 1301
Customer Support Mail : crisilratingdesk@crisil.com

2. Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA) Ltd.

ICRA Limited, formerly known as Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited, was set up in 1991. Its headquarters are situated in New Delhi, and the international credit agency Moody's Investors Service holds the largest share in ICRA Limited. 

It offers information and guides institutions as well as individual investors and creditors. It also assigns ratings related to performance, mutual funds, corporate governance, etc.

ICRA’s Registered Office Address:

ICRA’s Head Office:
Building No. 8, 2nd Floor, Tower A, DLF Cyber City, Phase II, Gurgaon - 122 002
Phone: +91-124-4545300

Telephone No: +91-11-23357940

3. Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) Ltd.

Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE) is a credit rating agency which has been operating in India since 1993. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, it provides ratings for manufacturing, infrastructure, and financial sectors. It also provides recovery ratings, independent credit evaluation of residual debt, public finance ratings, etc. 

CARE Limited is a partner in ARC Ratings, an international credit rating agency, and has presence and subsidiaries in Nepal, Japan, Africa, and Russia. 

CARE Ratings Limited Registered Office Address:

4th Floor, Godrej Coliseum, Somaiya Hospital Road, Off Eastern Express Highway, Sion (East), Mumbai - 400 022
Phone: +91-22-6754 3404 / +91-022-6754 3456

Email: Saikat.Roy@careedge.in

Email: care@careratings.com

4. India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd.

India Ratings and Research Private Limited is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group, recognized by both SEBI, and the Reserve Bank of India. Its headquarters are in Mumbai but it has offices in many cities all over India. 

This agency provides timely credit opinions of financial institutions, both banking and insurance, as well as leasing companies and other corporations. It also covers urban local bodies, managed funds, structures finance, and project finance companies.

India Ratings and Research Corporate Headquarters:

Wockhardt Towers, 4th Floor, West Wing, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East,
Mumbai 400051

Tel: + 91 (022) 40001700
Fax: + 91 (022) 40001701

Email: infogrp@indiaratings.co.in

5. INFOMERICS Ratings Private Ltd.

Infomerics is short for Integrated Financial Omnibus Metrics Research of International Corporate Systems, which is SEBI registered and accredited by the Reserve Bank of India. It is headquartered in Delhi, but has offices all over India.

It evaluates and rates the creditworthiness of banks, NBFCs, small and medium scale units, as well as large corporations. Apart from this, they also provide ratings for construction entities, engineering and management institutions, and Initial Public Offerings or IPOs.

INFOMERICS Ratings Registered & Head Office:

Flat No. 104/108, First Floor Golf Apartments, Sujan Singh Park, Maharishi Ramanna Marg, New Delhi - 110003, India

Phone: +91-11-41743541/ 41410244 / 24611910/ 24654796

Email: vma@infomerics.com , hrd@infomerics.com , info@infomerics.com

6. Brickwork Ratings India Pvt. Ltd.

Brickwork Ratings (BWR) is a SEBI-registered and RBI accredited Credit Rating Agency. Canara Bank is their strategic partner and promoter.

They offer rating services on bank loans, fixed deposits, non-convertible debentures (NCD), commercial paper, securitised paper, security receipts, etc. They also rate large corporate customers, banks, financial institutions, state and local governments. 

They have offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and New Delhi in India.

Brickwork Ratings India Pvt. Ltd. Corporate Office:

3rd Floor, Raj Alkaa Park, 29/3 & 32/2 Kalena Agrahara, Bannerghatta Road, 

Bengaluru - 560076

Phone: +91 80 4040 9940 / 4040 9999

Mobile: +91 96118 05999

7. Acuité Ratings & Research Ltd.

Acuité Ratings & Research Ltd. is a SEBI registered and RBI accredited credit rating agency. co-promoted by Dun & Bradstreet, a global data & analytics company.

They rate a range of debt instruments including NCDs, Commercial Paper and Bank Loan Ratings. The agency offers credit rating services to companies serving various sectors, such as banking, telecom, IT & ITes, steel, aviation, oil and gas, retail, etc.

They have also set up a Centre of Excellence responsible for developing ratings criteria, strengthening internal processes, improving ratings quality, and ensuring compliance with the existing regulations.

Acuité Ratings & Research Ltd. Registered & Corporate Office:

708, Lodha Supremus, Lodha iThink Techno Campus, Kanjurmarg (East),

Mumbai - 400042

Phone: +91 99698 98000

Email: info@acuite.in

Meaning of Credit Ratings 

Credit bureaus and credit rating agencies have different way of reporting creditworthiness. Credit bureaus use numbers ranging from 300 to 900, where a higher score is considered better.

However, credit rating agencies rate creditworthiness ranging from AAA to D. They following table describes what each of these mean -

Types of Credit Rating

There are many types of credit ratings depending on how you classify them. Let’s look at the types of credit rating one by one - 

Based on Term

According to the term, credit rating can be either short term credit rating or long term credit rating. 

The first determines the probability of a borrower to default within one year. Long-term ratings indicate the probability of a borrower defaulting in the extended future. Generally, credit ratings are for medium to long term. 

Based on Grade

In this category, there are two major types of credit ratings - investment and speculative grade.

The first category proves that the corporation has good financial management and is at a lower risk. It shows that the borrower is most likely to pay off their financial obligations on time. 

The speculative grade implies that a high level of risk is associated with the borrower. Entities that have this rating may find it difficult to get loans or may have to pay a higher rate of interest to get one.

Role of Credit Rating Agencies

Credit rating agencies play a major role for both companies and investors. In case you want to invest in a company, you would like to check the company’s financial conditions so you can be sure you won’t lose money.

Apart from this basic function, here are some roles of credit rating agencies in India - 

• Rating entities based on their ability to pay back loans
• Helping investors make judgments and decisions
• Assisting the mutual fund industry in managing risks and evaluating funds
• Providing policy and regulatory advice to corporations and the government 
• Rating financial institutions, fixed deposits, bank loans, and hybrid capital instruments

Credit rating agencies play a major role by providing information to lenders and investors if their investment would be worthwhile. 

There are quite a few credit rating agencies in India but the top 7 are mentioned in this article.