In forming its opinion, ARC Ratings analyses all necessary public and confidential information in a rigorous, systematic, dynamic and timely manner.
A rating from ARC Ratings is a fundamental tool to increase market efficiency by reducing the information asymmetries between issuers and investors and provides significant advantages to both.
Further validation and discussion around these advantages can be found below and are also touched upon during the video “An Introduction”, from ARC Ratings’ CEO, Oliver Howard.
Why ARC Ratings?
• A rating can potentially reduce the capital reserve requirements set aside for lending activities by banks under Basel II and Basel III
• A rating potentially reduces the risk premium or collateral demanded by investors improving the returns
• In some instances a rating can be accepted by lenders as a substitute for bank guarantees or reduce the costs of borrowing
• A rating can help clients access alternative financial sources other than bank lending
• A rating from ARC Ratings is cost effective thus enables savings to hit the clients P&L
• A rating also satisfies banks and investors’ internal risk regulation and, in some instances, where we are rating repackaged debt, a rating from ARC Ratings’ enables the investor to take a larger participation
• We help clients better understand their risk profiles which allows for remediation
• An Investor can benefit from enhanced transparency which is independent from commercial activities
• Our assessments and ratings do not follow a “tick box” approach - we probe deeper to better understand the risks
• A rating can help drive funding and investment decisions for Funds and Buy Side investors
• A rating can help build investor confidence in new alternative asset classes (such as trade finance ) by providing an independent view for investors
• As a smaller CRA we are nimble and very client focused
• We work closely alongside the larger CRAs in situations where regulations dictate the need for a rating from more than one rating agency
• Our subject matter expertise allows for deeper understanding of products and risks
• Our cost structure facilitates transactions, regardless of size
• We take time to understand and approach each rating with a tailored approach
• With strong internal governance and SME understanding, a rating from ARC Ratings can broaden investor appetite
• A rating from ARC Ratings facilitates debt disintermediation
• The rating can broaden the universe of potential investors:
- Allows access to external markets
- May allow investors to purchase instruments that fall within certain minimum statutory rating requirements
• A rating from ARC Ratings includes peer analysis which allows for industry comparison