Credit rating agency
(CRA).
A firm or unit within a firm that issues credit rating opinions that are often summarised in an alpha-numerical rank ordering.
Because in recent years there has been a trend towards regulation of credit rating agencies, some firms take care to avoid calling themes a credit rating agency or to call their opinions credit ratings.
In the US, the key recognition of long standing is as Nationally Recognised Statistical Rating Organisation (NRSRO by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the European Union, they have, more recently introduced the idea of registered and certified credit rating agencies recognised by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) - for European updates on CRAs see http://ec.europa.eu/finance/rating-agencies/index_en.htm.
