In a significant move within the financial analytics domain, RATING, a financial analytics firm, has penned a commercial and technological agreement with the Spanish entity INBONIS Rating. This collaboration is set to deliver high-caliber credit ratings for over 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across both regions by 2025, aiming to augment trade and investment flows.
The alliance is poised to escalate the adoption of credit ratings among SMEs, fortify financial and commercial cooperation, and include a licensing provision for INBONIS’s foundational REFOCAL technology to be utilized by RATING to cater to the burgeoning demand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
For five decades, credit ratings have stood as a global capital market standard to gauge the creditworthiness of large corporations or governments, guiding financing and investment decisions. Presently, public administrations and investors leverage these ratings worldwide to identify SMEs worthy of financial or commercial support.
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The two agencies are committed to promoting credit rating usage for SMEs as a tool for economic advancement and corporate growth. In such endeavors, each agency may invite the other to regional events to engage the investment community and enhance credit ratings as an apt instrument to bridge the information asymmetry gap in the SME sector.
On the technological front, INBONIS will license its proprietary REFOCAL credit rating technology to RATING. REFOCAL is a design-compliant program integrating an accredited credit rating methodology for SMEs and an efficient rating process, enabling the delivery of top-notch credit rating services at prices, terms, and processes tailored to SMEs and mid-sized businesses.
Nabil Al-Mubarak, founder and CEO of the financial analytics firm RATING, expressed pride in partnering with the INBONIS team and its founder, Alberto, sharing values and a vision to enhance the rating industry and make a substantial positive impact by employing cutting-edge technologies and innovative ideas to aid SMEs in particular and businesses in general.
Al-Mubarak also mentioned that RATING’s rating strategy aligns perfectly with Saudi Vision 2030, enabling SMEs to access the right advice and products from the financial analytics firm and facilitating cross-regional business with the European market, in coordination with INBONIS.
Alberto Navalpotro, founder and CEO of INBONIS and Regional Ambassador for Europe at the SME Finance Forum, regarded the collaboration with Nabil and his team as an honor, sharing a strong ambition for high-quality, affordable credit ratings for thousands of SMEs.
Navalpotro noted that sharing their core technology REFOCAL and technical expertise was an easy choice, anticipating that the partnership would also boost trade and investment flows between Europe and Saudi Arabia, benefiting European SMEs.
Both RATING in Saudi Arabia and INBONIS in Europe are pioneers in their respective regions for SME credit ratings, committed to improving long-term financing access for SMEs. RATING, established in 2022 and authorized as an independent local credit rating agency by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority in August 2022, has rated over 350 companies in Saudi Arabia in less than a year since its inception.
INBONIS, authorized as a credit rating agency in May 2019 by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has been operational since 2015, working with top-tier European financial institutions and leading its geographic market in the number of issued credit ratings, with over 700 rated SMEs to date.
