What Are the Best Credit Rating Subscription Services Available Globally?

Credit ratings are a critical part of understanding your business’s worth and that of potential investments or partners. Consequently, finding the right agency to provide this information, especially over long stretches, is crucial. So, what are the best credit rating subscription services available globally?

The optimal provider depends on your organization’s unique needs, but a few global leaders stand out among the rest. Here are 15 of the best credit rating subscription agencies to consider.

1. Kroll Bond Rating Agency

The Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) is the best credit rating subscription service in most contexts. KBRA understands that trust indicators vary by industry and company type, so it employs a wide variety of methodologies to suit each specific use case. This versatility and an emphasis on detailed data analytics offer unparalleled reliability and specificity in its ratings.

KBRA also uses five different scales depending on the kind of analysis you need. You can access all of these and keep an eye on how they evolve through KBRA’s suite of data analytics and monitoring tools.

2. S&P Global

One of the “Big Three” credit rating agencies, S&P Global, deserves attention for its sheer size alone. It tracks $2 trillion in alternative assets and has worked with all of the Global Fortune 100. Its impressive history is not the only thing the firm has to offer, though.

S&P provides support for virtually every industry and includes both historical data and speculative insights in its rating system. The scale is relatively simple and easy to follow, and because S&P is such a globally recognized entity, its ratings carry an air of trust that’s hard to replicate or deny.

3. Moody’s Investor Service

Another Big Three firm, Moody’s Investor Service, is not quite as large as S&P but still maintains a vast global presence. It assesses the credit of companies across over 135 countries, so you can rely on its service regardless of where your potential partners and investments operate.

Moody’s rating scale looks similar to S&P’s at first, but it takes a different approach. It weighs both the likelihood of an entity failing to meet contractual obligations and the potential impact of such a situation. In addition to these long-term ratings, the agency also uses a different scale for short-term insights.

4. Fitch Ratings

The smallest of the Big Three, Fitch Ratings, is another one of the best credit rating subscription services available globally. One useful standout feature of Fitch’s assessments is that it provides a plus or minus next to its letter grades to rank it further within its broader category. This detail is particularly helpful when comparing potential investments with similar ratings.

Fitch also varies its criteria between different industries and contexts. These also update over time and are available for anyone to see on Fitch’s website, which helps maintain transparency.

5. AM Best

As the world’s oldest credit rating firm, AM Best also deserves consideration. While it has a limited scope — the assessor deals exclusively with insurance — that’s a field that businesses in virtually every industry will deal with at some point. Consequently, AM Best is still relevant to many organizations.

In addition to credit risk scoring, AM Best provides performance assessments to give a more comprehensive look at a given insurer. It also maintains risk scores for different countries, which can help when expanding internationally.

6. Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited

The Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (Crisil) is one of the best credit rating subscription services outside the U.S. The firm was India’s first-ever credit rating agency and has since grown to become one of the largest such entities in the world.

While Crisil is technically a subsidiary of S&P, it uses two unique scales — one short-term methodology and one long-term alternative. It also provides strategic benchmarking services for certain sectors, which is helpful when you want to grow your operations, not just quantify potential investments.

7. Morningstar DBRS

Toronto-based Morningstar DBRS is another noteworthy international option to consider. The firm has official registrations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, so it’s a viable solution for operations in many countries.

Like S&P and Fitch, Morningstar uses a AAA to D grading system, and that familiarity makes it easy to understand its scoring. In addition to these ratings, it has an in-depth search function on its website to streamline due diligence when looking into entities that may have already received a risk score. The company also has specialties in several niche subsectors.

8. Rating and Investment Information Inc.

Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I) stands out as one of the best credit rating subscriptions when transparency and trust are key issues. While R&I is a Japanese firm, it maintains global coverage. It has also expanded into Hong Kong, giving it a physical presence in two of the world’s largest economies.

R&I is fully transparent, readily providing detailed information on its operations, organization and regulatory compliance. It applies the same level of detail to its assessments, which include ESG inspections in addition to credit risk scoring.

9. Egan-Jones Ratings Co.

Going back to the U.S., Egan-Jones Ratings Co. has a strong track record of accurate measurements. It keeps track of its ratings compared to those from other major agencies and is in line with the consensus more than 90% of the time. It also famously rang alarm bells before the 2007-2008 financial crisis, suggesting it can recognize major risks as well.

Egan-Jones builds its model around three core principles — regulatory compliance, commitment to clients and analytical integrity. These values result in fast, in-depth services, so you can get what you’re looking for quickly without fear of inaccuracy.

10. Japan Credit Rating Agency

The straightforwardly named Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) is one of the best credit rating subscription services for international concerns. While the Tokyo-based agency specializes in Japanese entities, its reach extends globally, so it’s still a useful resource outside of Japan.

On top of its risk-scoring services, JCR offers ESG evaluations and training courses for those hoping to learn more about investing. Its credit insights also include macroeconomic shifts and broader, country-specific regulatory concerns to contextualize its scores.

11. Demotech

The second insurance-only rating firm on this list is Demotech, from Columbus, Ohio. Demotech is unique in that its scale focuses on how well an insurer can weather varying economic conditions rather than conventional creditworthiness. This focus gives its assessments a different perspective that you may be unable to get otherwise.

Because of this highly specialized approach, Demotech’s Financial Stability Ratings may be difficult to understand at first. However, once you grasp the concept, they can be a valuable tool for evaluating an insurer’s long-term resilience before partnering with it.

12. RapidRatings

RapidRatings, which emphasizes efficiency and risk mitigation, is a relative newcomer to the industry. Instead of the conventional letter grading method, RapidRatings places entities along a numeric, 0 to 100 scale, which provides additional specificity that you don’t get with broader categories.

Outside of its assessments, RapidRatings sells a suite of transparency and monitoring tools to help you stay on top of developing risks. Supply chain organizations stand to gain the most from these products, but they can be helpful in other industrial contexts, too.

13. Creditsafe

Norway-based Creditsafe is another provider of some of the best credit rating subscriptions. Since its founding in 1997, the agency has grown to collect records on over 430 million companies around the world. This vast database gives it impressive insight and experience into financial trends in multiple countries.

All of Creditsafe’s scores come with a suggested limit, making it easier to act on the information you get from its research. It also compiles its ratings from a wider array of data than conventional financial markers. Consequently, you can place more trust in the results than in some simpler solutions.

14. Weiss Ratings

A more narrowly focused solution comes from Weiss Ratings, which specializes in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrency. These sectors may not apply to your business, but if you deal heavily in finance or new technologies, Weiss’s unique specialization can be helpful.

Weiss applies three different ratings across three main categories — investments, crypto and financial safety — but all use the same letter grading scale. This organized system simplifies things so you can easily understand and apply the scores.

15. VERIBANC

Another highly specialized credit rating subscription service is VERIBANC, focusing on financial institutions. While many other agencies also provide insight into this industry, VERIBANC is unique in its color-coded and star-based rating systems.

VERIBANC assigns a color of either green, yellow or red to contextualize an entity’s risk in terms of whether you should follow through partnering with it or not. It also rates institutions from zero to three stars to indicate their projected financial strength, which the color code does not include.

Why Do You Need a Credit Rating Subscription Service?

Choosing the right credit rating subscription service is critical in any industry. While some leaders may be hesitant to pay for such ongoing partnerships, these deals are crucial for several reasons.

Financial risks are as dynamic as they are impactful. Markets have become increasingly volatile in recent years compared to previous decades. Amid such dramatic changes, a potential partner or investment could seem safe one year but be risky in the next few. Consequently, having a subscription to monitor such shifts, either within your operations or outside of them, is ultimately more cost-effective in many cases. Searching for myscore cancel is a reminder that understanding how to manage and, when necessary, end financial subscriptions is just as important as choosing the right one in the first place. 

Understanding credit ratings over time is all the more important when looking internationally. Other countries may have entirely different market conditions and regulations you may not keep up with regularly. Having a reliable rating subscription service helps you account for these knowledge gaps to ensure your partnerships, investments and supply chain remain in good standing.

How to Identify a Reliable Credit Rating Subscription Service

Once it’s clear why you need a credit rating subscription service, it helps to learn how to identify a good one. While the best solution depends on your industry and needs, you should look for a few common features.

An easily understandable and comprehensive rating scale is among the most important aspects. Risk scores should consider a broad range of factors and present the findings in a way that you can apply to your strategy without much difficulty.

The best credit rating subscription services also cover more sectors. In some cases, you’ll only need attention in one or two industry verticals. However, an agency with more diverse experience may be able to provide more reliable insights, regardless of your niche.

Where a firm is headquartered can also matter. You typically want to work with a provider that understands the local market surrounding the investment or partner you’re scoring. Some companies work around this by having satellite offices in other countries.

Best Credit Rating Subscriptions Side-by-Side Comparison

Partner With the Best Credit Rating Subscription Provider Today

All 15 of these agencies offer some of the best credit rating subscription services available globally. Start your search here and review what factors matter most to you to get a better understanding of your risks or those of potential investments. Doing so today will prepare you for a more resilient tomorrow.

Devin Partida writes about investor technologies, big data and apps. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of ReHack.com.