The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved SME Rating Agency of India (Smera) as an eligible external credit assessment institution under the Basel norms, a company release said here today.
Smera, promoted by SIDBI and Dun & Bradstreet along with various government, public and private sector banks, will now be able to offer its services in the bank loan space.
As per the RBI circular, banks can now use the ratings of Smera along with existing five domestic credit rating agencies.
Referring to the approval, Smera chairman, SG Gulati said, “with RBI accreditation, we have now a level-playing field with other rating agencies and I am confident that our ratings will enable investors to take better decisions.”
At present, the rating agency offers services such as SME ratings, Greenfield and Brownfield grading, ratings of NCDs and bonds, IPO grading, education institution ratings, green ratings, micro-finance institutions among others.