MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday tweaked its operational circular on credit rating agencies (CRAs), asking them to have a detailed policy by March-end in respect of non-submission of crucial information, including quarterly financial numbers, by the issuers.
Also, the detailed policy should contain methodology in respect of assessing the risk of non-availability of information from the issuers, including non-cooperative issuers and the steps to be taken under various scenarios in order to ascertain the status of non-cooperation by the issuer company.
Further, CRAs will have to follow a uniform practice of three consecutive months of non-submission of no-default statement (NDS) as a ground for considering migrating the ratings to INC (issuers not cooperating) and need to tag such ratings within 7 days of three consecutive months of non-submission of NDS.
The CRA in its judgement may migrate a rating to the INC category before the expiry of three consecutive months of non-receipt of NDS. In its fresh circular for CRAs, the regulator said that these requirements would be applicable by March 31, 2023. Prior to that, the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) came out with an operational circular on CRAs in January, which was to come into effect from February 1.