Through
the years, CRISIL has continued to innovate and play
the role of a pioneer in the development of the Indian
debt market.
CRISIL rates long-term instruments such as debentures/bonds and preference shares, structured obligations (including asset-backed securities) and fixed deposits; it also rates short-term instruments such as commercial paper programmes and short-term deposits. As part of bank loan ratings, CRISIL also rates credit facilities extended to borrowers by banks. In addition, CRISIL undertakes credit assessments of state governments: in the past, it has rated state governments including those of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The first rating agency to be set up in India,
CRISIL has several firsts to its credit. For instance,
CRISIL was the first rating agency in the world to rate
instruments carrying partial guarantees, and to integrate
value creation into the corporate governance framework.
CRISIL was the first rating agency in India to rate banks,
governments and urban local bodies, and securitisation transactions.
CRISIL has also pioneered the rating of subsidiaries and joint ventures
of multinationals in India and has rated several
multinational entities. Over the years, CRISIL has
also developed several structured ratings for multinational
entities based on Guarantees from
parents, as well as Standby Letter of Credit arrangements
from bankers. CRISIL has also developed methodologies for
credit enhancement of corporate borrowing programmes
through the use of partial guarantees. All this gives
CRISIL a unique place in terms of experience in
understanding the extent of credit enhancement arising
from such structures.
