ACRA

ACRA (Analytical Credit Rating Agency) is a Russian national rating agency founded in 2015. It is accredited by The Central Bank of the Russian Federation and has been registered as a credit rating agency since August 2016.

ACRA’s head office is in Moscow. The official website is available at the link - https://www.acra-ratings.ru/?lang=en.

ACRA assigns credit ratings to issuers in the corporate, municipal, and public sectors, as well as their issues. Entities rated by ACRA include those in the corporate sector, credit, leasing, insurance, microfinance, international financial organizations, and countries and regional/local authorities.

ACRA assigns long-term issuer credit ratings based on the following scales:

1) National ACRA rating scale for the Russian Federation (for example, Pioneer Group, Krasnoyarsk region, Concern Kalashnikov, Element Leasing, and Tyumenenergo), which is used to compare intrastate ratings.

2) International rating scale for international organizations (for example, EDB, Belinvestbank, The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, IBEC, and Altyngold).

3) International rating scale in foreign currency and international rating scale in national currency (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Switzerland)

The rating agency assigns most of the issue ratings by the National Rating Scale for the Russian Federation. Examples of such bond issues include Samara region, 35012, RUSAL Bratsk, BO-001P-01, Sovcombank, BO-05, SG-trans, 001P-01, and Tomsk, 34007.

ACRA assigns ratings to bond issues related to structured finance, for example, MA Titan-3, class A, Mortgage Agent BSPB 2, 01, or Mortgage Agent Absolute 5, 01, according to the Structured Finance Sector National Rating Scale for the Russian Federation.

ACRA also assigns ESG scores, which are the rating agency’s opinion on the company’s sustainability activities. The agency assigns scores from ESG-A (highest rating) to ESG-G (lowest rating).

For example, as of May 2022, bond issuers that have ESG scores include TMK (ESG-C) and Rosseti (ESG-B).

In addition to credit ratings and ESG assessments, ACRA also assigns non-credit ratings, specifically the Asset Management Company Reliability Rating, according to the National Rating Scale for the Russian Federation. The purpose of such ratings is to assess the ability of the asset management company to provide appropriate trust management services under the contract.

ACRA also publishes rating releases on issuers and issues, as well as various types of analytical commentaries and research.