CRIF Obtains European Registration as a Credit Rating Agency

CRIF, Italy’s leading provider for credit risk management and lending solution will issue credit ratings on Italian companies.  CRIF has obtained Credit Rating Agency (CRA) registration from CONSOB and ESMA (the European Authority supervising securities and markets), in accordance with the EC Regulation 1060/2009 dated 16 September 2009, which regulates credit rating agency operations on an EU level.

“We are very proud of having obtained registration as a credit rating agency,” commented Carlo Gherardi, CRIF CEO, “This will further strengthen our position as market leader in credit management services, an area which CRIF has been significantly investing in for years through the quantitative and qualitative improvement of information sources and the strengthening of the analytical skills and financial expertise necessary for an accurate assessment of the credit risk of businesses; from sole traders to large companies. What’s more, the rating market was in need of additional players, particularly in Europe.”

The registration means that CRIF ratings can be used and are valid in all European Union countries. This is therefore an important recognition of the quality and robustness of CRIF methodologies, processes and organization, as well as compliance with the strict requirements of the September 2009 European Regulation, in particular in terms of the independence, objectivity and transparency of the assessments.

These values have been translated into a Code of Conduct and Internal Policy that CRIF has adopted in order to increase the knowledge and trust of operators in terms of the issued ratings, as well as to ensure the management and removal of any existing or potential conflicts of interest that may influence CRIF’s rating activities or activities of the subjects involved.

Furthermore, CRIF has set up a committee including participation from independent members that have held important positions within the financial sector, which has the task of controlling and supervising compliance with all the requirements of the European Regulation, and is independent from the rating activities of the company.

Source: CRIF Press Release