FAQ

A credit rating is an opinion that provides a measure of credit quality. It is an unbiased, independent, third-party evaluation of an issue or issuer. It is a grading system which focuses on a company’s capability and willingness to pay its obligations upon maturity.

A credit rating is typically used to obtain funding from the public. Raising funds from the capital markets provides a company with improved financial flexibility and can allow it to negotiate for better terms and interest rates. A credit rating can also be used for marketing and benchmarking purposes as through the rating process, a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will be highlighted. On the part of regulators and investors, credit ratings can assist in their own evaluation and monitoring of specific companies and instruments. Credit rating agencies typically have access to confidential information which will not be readily available to other market participants.

Credit rating agencies are regulated by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC). The BSEC (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 1996 govern the credit rating agencies and provide for eligibility criteria for registration of credit rating agencies, monitoring and review of ratings, requirements for a proper rating process, avoidance of conflict of interest and inspection of rating agencies by BSEC, amongst other things.

Each credit rating agency may have its own set of criteria and different weight age for each component for assigning the ratings. Some of the common factors that may be taken into consideration for credit rating are Issuer Company’s operational efficiency, level of technological development, financials, competence and effectiveness of management, past record of debt servicing, etc.

The lead analyst for a particular account reviews the specific issue or issuer on a continuous, daily basis. The analyst is expected to keep himself/herself informed regarding developments relating to his or her account. On a formal basis, updated information is requested quarterly while it is mandatory to meet with a company’s management, for as long as there is an outstanding credit rating, at least once a year.

A credit rating can be changed at any time depending on prevailing circumstances and/or prospects. Any potential upgrade or downgrade, however, will necessitate meeting or discussing with the company concerned to ensure the accuracy of facts and rating considerations in arriving at the revised credit rating.

Ratings can be withdrawn due to the following reasons: 1. Rated debt security has been paid in full upon maturity. 2. Company has decided not to renew its credit rating agreement after the yearly agreement lapses. 3. Company being rated does not provide enough information which WCRCL can use as basis for regularly updating and monitoring the credit rating. As much as possible, WCRCL refrains from withdrawing credit ratings due to lack of information for surveillance purposes.

A credit rating does not guarantee lower borrowing costs. Investors and lenders are free to set lending margins at any level that makes commercial sense. Additionally, at low levels of rating, the capital costs applied may be the same whether or not a borrower is rated, or may in fact be higher (for example, if a borrower has both a small exposure and a very low rating). However, to the general benefit of higher rated entities, implementation of Basel II in Bangladesh is expected to make the bank system in general more risk-sensitive in assigning lending margins.

If the issuer is not satisfied with the rating outcome, an appeal on the decision can be constituted as per the provisions laid out in the rating process and signed agreement as well.

Razib Ahmed Profile Details:

Razib Ahmed has been working at WASO Credit Rating Company (BD) Ltd. as Chief Rating Officer since January 2024. Prior to joining WCRCL, he worked with Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd. (CRISL) as Vice President and Chairman of the Internal Review Committee. He joined CRISL in January 2022. He started his career in the credit rating industry in 2006 as a financial analyst at Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) and served for more than 15 years in different positions at this organization, including Head of Business Development Division, Unit Head of Rating Division, etc.

Mr. Ahmed has an MBA from Dhaka University in Finance and Banking. In CRISL and CRAB, he has performed several rating assignments including ratings of financial institutions (banks, NBFIs, General Insurance), large corporate, projects, structured instruments, and financial forecasting and modeling of various industries. He was also responsible for ensuring the analytical quality and due diligence aspects of four teams under the Rating Unit of CRAB. He was also actively engaged in methodology development for assessing credit worthiness and credit rating for urban local bodies (ULBs) in Bangladesh. At present, he is a member of the ‘Technical Committee’ formed by Bangladesh Bank to develop uniform rating methodologies and score models for credit rating agencies.

Mr. Ahmed received training on ‘Best Practices in Rating’ and ‘Rating of Bond Market Mutual Funds’ arranged by Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Association for Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA), held in Manila, Philippines; training on ‘Indicators for Effective Macroeconomic Risk Analysis’ arranged by Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC), and the Association for Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and participated in various training programs and workshops arranged by CRAB, CRISL, MCCI, DCCI, BEI, etc.

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Md. Al Amin Jewel Profile Details:

Md. Al Amin Jewel has been working at WCRCL as Assistant Vice President (AVP) of WASO Credit Rating Company (BD) Limited and as Deputy In-Charge of Credit Rating Division (CRD) since 2012. Prior to joining WCRCL, Mr. Jewel worked at the Trauma Center and Orthopedic Hospital in Shaymoil, Dhaka, as an internal auditor since 2009.

 

Mr. Jewel has an MBA from Bangladesh Open University (BOU) with a major in Finance and Banking, and a Masters of Business Studies (MBS) with a concentration in Accounting from National University. In addition, Mr. Jewel is an articleship student at the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) and has completed business level. In WCRCL, he completed many rating assignments, including ratings of financial institutions (NBFIs and general insurance), large corporations, SME projects, instruments, and various industries.

 

Mr. Jewel received training on ‘Credit Risk Management’ (Credit Risk Analysis, Financial Risk, Operational Risk, and Cash Flow Analysis) conducted by Financial Excellence Limited and participated in various training programs and workshops arranged by WCRCL.

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Monira Islam Profile Details:

Monira Islam has been working at WASO Credit Rating Company Limited as a senior financial analyst since 2018 and as a team leader since 2023. Before joining WASO, she worked with Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd. (CRISL) as a research officer since 2010.

 

Ms. Monira has an MBA from Daffodil International University in Finance. In WASO and CRISL, she is a dedicated and detail-oriented financial analyst with 12 years of experience. In this time, she completed many rating assignments, including ratings of general insurance, MFIs, power plants, large corporations, projects of various industries, and SME clients. As a senior financial analyst, she performs quantitative and statistical analysis, accounting, and decision-making with strong analytical skills. She also assists in training and, as needed, supervises her team members. Experienced in client relations, effective communication, report generation, process development, and documentation.

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Maharan Nasrin Profile Details:

Maharan Nasrin has been working at WCRCL as a senior financial analyst for WASO Credit Rating Company (BD.) Limited and as a team leader, since 2014. Maharan Nasrin has an MBA from Eastern University in Finance. In WCRCL, she completed many rating assignments, including ratings of large and medium corporations, projects, and SMEs. Besides, assessing, analyzing, and interpreting complicated business and financial information from different SMEs and corporations throughout her stint as an analyst, Ms. Nasrin gathered knowledge and learned different characteristics of numerous industries, such as textiles (RMG, RMG accessories, etc.), trading, rice mills, and others.

 

Ms. Nasrin has participated in all the in-house training and workshops. Before starting a career in the credit rating industry in Bangladesh, Maharan Nasrin worked with Jamuna Bank Limited.

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Ummay Fatema Profile Details:

Ummay Fatema has been working at WCRCL as a senior financial analyst and team leader since 2015. She has an MBA from Rajshahi University in finance and banking. In WCRCL, she completed many rating assignments, including ratings of large corporations, projects, and many other business entities. Her key responsibilities include reviewing and conducting critical examinations of credit rating applications, managing all kinds of risks and regulatory compliance, supervising and assisting team members to meet time-bound action plans, nurturing new members of the team, maintaining liaison at a regular interval across various clients, bankers, and auditors for gathering and updating business information, etc.

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Md. Rafiul Bary Profile Details:

Md. Rafiul Bary has been working at WCRCL as a senior financial analyst for WASO Credit Rating Company (BD) Limited since 2015 and is currently working as a team leader. Before starting his career in the credit rating industry in Bangladesh, Mr. Rafi also worked with Invesco Global.

Mr. Rafi has an MBA from the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) in Finance and Banking. In WCRCL, he completed many rating assignments, including ratings of large corporations, projects, and more than thousands of SME clients with diversified industries and modeling of various industries. He also worked for ensuring analytical quality and due diligence aspects of rating and actively engaged in industry paper writing.

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Md. Firoz Hossain Profile Details:

Md. Firoz Hossain has been working as a compliance officer for WASO Credit Rating Company (BD) Limited since 2020. Before joining this company, Mr. Firoz worked at BRB Hospitals Limited as the In-Charge of the Billing Section, and he also worked at WASO Credit Rating Company (BD) Limited as the Executive of the Business Development Department.

Mr. Firoz completed his graduation and post-graduation in economics from Dhaka College under the National University.

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