The freedom to choose in a market economy must be backed by confidence in your partners’ trustworthiness. Internal evaluation may not be enough to ensure a sound decision: sometimes an independent, expert opinion is needed. In today’s world this role is often played by a system of ratings.

Ratings are a compact but meaningful way to describe a bank’s current creditworthiness and probable future trends. As indicators, they guide business decisions and shape the future of partnerships.

A bank’s current rating and the past history of that rating provide signals about the appropriateness of maintaining, expanding or cutting back business ties.

In assigning a credit rating, our agency also prepares an objective, independent analysis of a bank’s activity in the form of a profile (report).

Why reports

RusRating reports are prepared using a range of analytical techniques developed specifically to assess credit risk in the Russian market. Ratings are built on the contents of the reports, which describe a bank’s current financial and non-financial condition.

The reports include both informational and analytical components, along with the resulting rating and a composite assessment of the risk faced by counterparties working with a particular bank.

RusRating reports are designed to meet the needs of active market players, with a focus at this time on short-term credit ratings. In other words, we evaluate the overall credit risk facing counterparties in the short term (a period of up to three months).

RusRating’s analysis does not take into account the risk associated with taking money out of Russia. Our target subscribers are businesses already present in Russia, or those that have taken the decision to enter the Russian market.

It should be noted that RusRating reports are aimed solely at a professional audience, and make use of concepts and terminology familiar to experts in risk management.

RusRating reports can also help a bank to evaluate its own risks and may lead to adjustments in its own behaviour or market image. In-house analysts who read our reports examine the information we provide and weigh it alongside their own assessments. Conclusions about potential counterparty risks – and resulting decisions about credit limits and other business ties – remain their own

For Russian banks, our reports offer yet another advantage. Central Bank of Russia instructions require them to submit monthly assessments of counterparty creditworthiness, maintaining dossiers for use in evaluating risk, setting lines of credit and forming reserves. RusRating reports include information presented in accordance with CBR norms and can be included directly in these dossiers.

Banks are not our only subscribers, however. RusRating reports are also used by major industrial groups and other companies with large equity investments in banks or high balances on account.

Our clients also include foreign financial institutions – a special category.

Some of our international subscribers are active commercially in the Russian market. For them, RusRating reports contribute to greater transparency in a variety of areas. Others use our reports to help weigh risks and returns on Russian banking securities. There is also a group of clients for whom our reports have clearly served as a guide to investment in the Russian banking sector.