Credit Rating

    Credit & Debt

    An agency's opinion of a borrower's ability to repay, expressed on a letter scale from AAA (highest safety) down to D (default). In India the major agencies are CRISIL, ICRA, and CARE.

    Why it matters

    Ratings gate access to capital: many institutional investors can only hold investment-grade paper, so a downgrade below BBB- can force selling and sharply raise borrowing costs.

    Indian example

    Related terms