Fitch launches India Ratings arm

Ratings agency Fitch Ratings launched a new brand for its existing national ratings business in India — India Ratings & Research Pvt Ltd. With this, the national ratings in India will no longer be assigned under ‘Fitch Ratings’ but on ‘India Ratings.’

A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group, India Ratings will focus on the domestic market, according to the company.

“We believe issuers, investors and other market participants will benefit from this move as it will sharpen the focus of the group’s analytical coverage, increase transparency and allow us to keep abreast of domestic and international regulatory changes,” said Brett Hemsley, Head, Asia Pacific operations, Fitch.

According to Brett, India Ratings will continue to rate all instruments that Fitch has been rating including bank loans, bonds, debentures and structured transactions on a national scale. He added that the criteria for ratings will be based on global best-practices.

“Launching a purely India-focussed brand for our national ratings business is an exciting milestone for us. By clearly separating the branding of each business, we can continue delivering global standard, international ratings under the Fitch brand, while India Ratings can focus on the needs of domestic ratings users and regulators,” said Atul Joshi, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Fitch Ratings India.