The Determinants of Credit Rating and the Effect of Regulatory Disclosure Requirements: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Abstract We examine the determinants of credit rating for the debt instruments of Indian firms. The ordered probit model analysis of firms with rating announcements by CARE, CRISIL, and ICRA, the major rating agencies in India, indicates that interest coverage, profitability, financial leverage, market size, stock beta, and volatility have a significant effect on credit ratings. We find evidence that the credit rating levels have become lower after the market regulator’s passage of Transparency and Disclosure Norms in June 2010. The results suggest that regulatory disclosure requirements influence rating agencies to be conservative in their rating standards.