Credit Rating Industry in India

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The Credit Rating Agencies are regulated by mainly SEBI and RBI policies. In fact SEBI through The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 1999 was one of the first regulators globally to devise an effective and comprehensive regulatory framework for CRAs
SEBI regulation for CRAs has been designed to ensure the following:
- Only credible players enter and exist in the business
-The regulations are devised in such a way that fair and objective opinions are given by the CRAs
-Investors have widespread access to ratings
- The applicant should be registered as a company under the Companies Act, 1956 and possess a minimum network of Rs.5 crore.
Additionally, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has suggested certain changes in its code of conduct to enhance the credibility of the CRAs. The proposals once put in place will have to be adopted by all the national regulatory authorities. The proposed changes include enhancing provisions to safeguard the integrity of the credit rating process in order to avoid conflict of interests and increase transparency and at the same time safeguard public information. (Source: The Economic Times, 10 February, 2014)
Market Performance
Crisil was the first credit rating agency to set up shop in India in 1987. At that time the industry was in nascent stage and faced several hurdles because of the following issues
-Absence of bond market
-Absence of market-determined interest rates
However the liberalization of Indian economy aided the growth of the industry due to rapid economic growth in the country which prompted both private as well as government enterprises to look at the capital market for financing options.
The industry receive...

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... resources as well as having sophisticated analytical methods and facilities. However the industry’s growth depends to a large extent on how the corporate debt and derivative market in India expands. This would need liberalization of capital account and deregulation for increasing demands for debt instruments in not only domestic but also international markets. Also India is facing pressure from international circles in this regard, so far the regulatory authorities have followed a cautious line since it would cause disturbance and fluctuations in the domestic market. However the future is not completely bleak for this industry. The Credit rating industry in India has tremendous growth potential due to the following factors:
-Strong capex cycle in Indian economy
-Lower penetration due to corporate bond market
-Regulatory push due to implementation of Basel II norms

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