Unrated — and paying for it
Large unrated exposures attract up to a 150% risk weight from April 2027. Getting rated, properly, is now a borrowing-cost imperative.
A notch on your rating is basis points on every rupee you borrow.
Bank Loan Rating (BLR) Advisory
A better bank loan rating lowers the risk weight your bank holds against your loan — which means cheaper, larger credit. We prepare and manage your rating across all 7 SEBI agencies, led by CAs and ex-bankers who read your file the way the lender and the rating committee will. ₹4,250 Cr+ mobilised across 100+ mandates since 2011.
All 7 SEBI CRAs CA / ex-banker led Rating + debt, one desk
A track record since 2011, in numbers
₹4,250 Cr+
Capital mobilised across sectors₹550 Cr
Largest single facility structured100+
Deals advised end to end7
SEBI CRAs we advise acrossSince 2011
CA / ex-banker, senior on every fileA bank loan rating is the external rating a SEBI-registered agency assigns to your term loans and working-capital limits. Banks use it to set the risk weight — and therefore the capital — they hold against your loan under RBI’s Basel norms. A better rating means less capital, which means room for a better rate and a larger limit. The rating is the lever; we help you pull it.
Why the rating pays for itself
What your rating does to your bank’s capital
Under RBI’s Standardised Approach (2026 Directions, effective April 2027), your external rating sets the risk weight on your loan. Lower risk weight = less capital the bank must hold = structural room for cheaper, larger credit.
External rating Risk weight What it means for borrowing
AAA / AATarget Risk weight20% MeansLowest capital charge — best pricing room
A Risk weight50% MeansStrong; meaningful capital efficiency
BBB Risk weight75% MeansInvestment grade; improved from prior 100%
BB Risk weight100% MeansSub-investment grade
Below BB Risk weight150% MeansHigh capital charge
Unrated (> ₹500 Cr exposure) Risk weight150% MeansPunitive — same as below-BB
Indicative, per RBI’s Commercial Banks Standardised Approach Directions 2026 (effective 1 April 2027) for long-term corporate exposures. Example: on a ₹100 Cr loan, an AA rating (20% risk weight) requires roughly ₹2.3 Cr of bank capital versus about ₹17 Cr if unrated at 150% — ~7.5× more efficient. Banks don’t pass through every rupee, but it is a direct lever on your pricing and limits.
Where companies leave money on the table
The bank-loan-rating mistakes that cost crores
A rating that undershoots your fundamentals is an expensive, avoidable problem. These are the gaps we close.
A rating below your fundamentals
A thin file, the wrong agency or an unprepared management meeting can cost you a notch — and a notch is basis points on every facility.
Drifting into “Issuer Not Cooperating”
Miss the data submission for three months and you’re tagged INC — then force-downgraded to junk regardless of health. Entirely avoidable.
The wrong agency for your sector
The seven CRAs differ by sector fit and lender perception. Defaulting to the familiar name can mean a lower rating than you’d get elsewhere.
Unprepared for the committee meeting
The management discussion is where ratings are won or lost. Most companies walk in cold; we rehearse you for the questions that get asked.
A rating with no funding plan
A rating is the start, not the end. Without a plan to use it, it’s just a cost — we connect it to the debt raise that monetises it.
What we own, end to end
From agency selection to the rating letter — and beyond
We run the bank loan rating process so the rating reflects your fundamentals, then keep it that way through surveillance.
01
Agency selection
We shortlist the right CRA for your sector, exposure and lenders across all 7 SEBI agencies — see how the agencies compare.
02
Rating-pack preparation
Financials restated and presented the way analysts read them, peer benchmarking, the credit story and projections that withstand scrutiny.
03
Management-meeting readiness
We rehearse the promoter and CFO for the agency’s management discussion — the highest-leverage hour in the whole process.
04
Process & query management
We coordinate data, queries and timelines with the agency through to the rating letter — and support an appeal where the rating undershoots.
05
Surveillance & INC protection
We manage your No-Default Statement calendar and surveillance cycle so you never drift into an INC tag or a surprise downgrade.
06
Upgrade & debt linkage
A 12–24 month uplift programme — and we use the rating to syndicate the debt via corporate finance.
Why issuers choose Finnova
The banker’s eye, on your side of the table
Most advisors prepare a file. We prepare you for how the rating committee and the lender will actually read it.
01
CA + ex-banker led
People who have read bank loan files from the lender’s side and dealt with rating committees — not a junior bench. You deal with the named partner.
02
All 7 SEBI CRAs
Agency-agnostic. We route you to the agency whose methodology and lender perception favour your profile — not the familiar name.
03
Rating + debt, one desk
We get the rating right, then use it to raise the money — cheaper bank lines, term loans and bonds. The rating is the launchpad.
04
Track record
₹4,250 Cr+ mobilised and 100+ deals since 2011 — a finance partner with real lender reach.
Consultation
Find out what rating your fundamentals support
One conversation tells you the right agency, the realistic rating, and what it would do to your borrowing cost. No pitch — a straight read from senior people who own numbers for a living.
Thank you — your enquiry has been submitted
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FAQ
Bank loan rating advisory, answered
A bank loan rating is an external credit rating assigned by a SEBI-registered, RBI-accredited rating agency to a company’s bank facilities (term loans and working-capital limits). Banks use it to compute the regulatory capital they must hold against your loan under RBI’s Basel norms — which is why a better rating supports cheaper, larger credit.
It is not mandatory for every loan, but banks rely on external ratings to set the risk weight on an exposure under the Standardised Approach. An unrated borrower attracts a punitive risk weight under RBI’s 2027 framework — up to 150% for unrated exposures above ₹500 crore (smaller unrated exposures attract 100%) — so for mid-to-large facilities a rating is effectively essential to get competitive terms.
A higher rating means a lower risk weight, so the bank holds less capital against your loan — creating structural room for a better rate and larger limit. An AA-rated exposure carries a 20% risk weight versus up to 150% unrated. Banks don’t pass through every basis point automatically, but the rating is a direct lever on pricing and access.
Any of the seven SEBI-registered CRAs can rate bank facilities, and banks generally accept all of them — but sector fit, turnaround and lender perception differ. We shortlist the right agency for your profile before you commit, rather than defaulting to the familiar name.
If you stop submitting required information (the No-Default Statement) for three consecutive months, the agency tags your rating “Issuer Not Cooperating” (INC); left unaddressed it forces a downgrade to non-investment grade. We manage your surveillance calendar so this never happens.
Every mandate is led by a senior CA or ex-banker — people who have read bank loan files from the lender’s side and sat across from rating committees. You deal with the named partner directly, not a rotating bench of junior staff.
Further reading
Credit rating, explained in our Resources
How ratings are decided, what they cost, and how to improve yours. For the full service, see credit rating advisory.