Investors and finance enthusiasts often become interested in asset-backed securities (ABS) and their associated ratings.
These are financial investments collateralized by an underlying asset pool, typically composed of those generating cash flow from debt, such as leases, credit card balances and receivables. It is either a note or a bond with an associated rating that indicates its level of risk based on the likelihood of the underlying loans defaulting.
The investing market includes numerous players that provide data to help investors make informed choices about risks. Which entities should people consider as they look for the best ABS ratings provider?
1. KBRA
KBRA is a global, full-service credit ratings agency established in 2010. Its in-depth research covers various sectors in the United States and European markets, providing the investment community with the resources necessary for informed decisions.
This company has issued more than 87,700 ratings and associated itself with $4.19 trillion in rated issuance.
It has measurable experience that helps investors feel they have the necessary information to make informed decisions. KBRA continues its initial mission to restore people’s trust and credit ratings by establishing new risk assessment standards and providing timely, transparent ratings.
More than 650 employees work in offices located across three continents, underscoring the entity’s global reach.
Key Features
| The 2025 edition of GlobalCapital’s U.S. Securitization Awards named this brand as ABS Rating Agency of the Year, signaling its industry recognition. | KBRA provided hundreds of new-issue ratings across a wide range of asset classes in 2024, demonstrating its commitment to relevance. |
| The company develops its credit opinions through collaborations with sector experts on numerous rating teams and conducts clear, timely research. | The ratings reports feature deep contextual information shaped by transparency and real-world expertise. |
2. Moody’s
Moody’s has provided organizations and individuals with information on exponential risk since 1909. This business combines rich data, skilled analysts and top-tier technology.
Besides its ratings arm, it has priorities like specializing in data and information. The employees in that group have created one of the world’s largest databases for credit and companies, with more than 450 million entities.
Moody’s staff view this time as the era of exponential risk and dedicate themselves to providing customers with the information and tools to navigate it. That goal informs the brand’s aim for investors and debt issuers to view it as their preferred global ratings agency. It also has numerous cloud-based platforms, allowing customers to get insights from anywhere.
Key Features
| Moody’s rates 90% of the world’s public debt, comprising more than $74 trillion. | This brand applies the analytical rigor on which it has built its name to the private credit market as well, providing investors with welcome details. |
| Investors can access a unified risk platform that combines thousands of data points. | This business segregates its commercial and analytical activities, providing an independent view that remains high quality and integrity-based. |
3. Fitch Ratings
Established in 1914, Fitch Ratings provides forward-looking credit ratings data for almost 20,000 publicly rated entities and worldwide transactions. This company’s ratings also encompass over 100 data fields and two decades. Analysts publish standardized and timely data trusted by entities like banks, corporations and insurance firms due to its 99.95% accuracy rate.
The Ratings Navigator tool displays the relevant qualitative and quantitative aspects that influence an entity’s credit rating. It also includes environmental, social and governance scores to indicate how sustainability decisions may impact this information and investors’ confidence.
The 10-step ratings process demonstrates the meticulous attention to gathering and verifying the necessary information before publishing it. Analysts also provide comprehensive commentaries about market sectors or regions to keep parties informed.
Key Features
| This ratings provider has over 2,400 employees possessing over a century of combined experience while covering more than 20,000 worldwide entities. | The company’s more than 1,400 analysts have handled almost 21,000 rated entities and transactions. |
| This brand has offices in over 25 countries, underscoring its extensive global presence. | Numerous international and regional organizations have awarded this ratings provider in recognition of its robust ratings and research process. |
4. S&P Global Ratings
S&P Global Ratings assigns public and private ratings across various asset classes to provide investors and other relevant entities with independent and respected opinions on creditworthiness, enabling these parties to operate with greater transparency in the markets.
Although it publishes public ratings information on its website, parties interested in private ones can get them through a secure portal compatible with up to 145 users.
With roots dating back to 1860, this provider blends a long-standing marketplace presence with access to the latest data and technologies, giving people comprehensive, up-to-date information. Its access to numerous industries also assists corporate clients who want to expand their businesses by entering new markets.
Key Features
| This company has issued more than 1 million ratings, demonstrating its well-established impact on investors’ decisions. | The brand bases its ratings on more than 150 countries, making the results valuable for people with international plans. |
| The ratings provider boasts over 1,500 credit analysts working worldwide. | Because 95% of the world’s top 20 global institutional investors use these ratings, investors view them as a worthwhile choice. |
Methodology
People looking for the best ABS ratings provider should use the shared characteristics of the enterprises on this list to inform their decision-making process. Aspects such as collaborative expertise from market analysts, extensive databases and transparent processes for determining ratings are among the attributes that make these providers stand out.
Award-winning results also matter because they indicate a brand has achieved peer recognition. A presence in many areas of the world influenced the makeup of this list, especially because global events can affect investors’ results. Some of these entities publish comprehensive analyses of activities in specific countries or industries, giving readers a richer perspective.
Driving Decisions With Data
Whether experts want to invest in asset-backed securities for the first time or have been doing so for many years, reliable data helps them feel more confident about the way forward, especially in an ever-changing world with numerous fluctuating factors. These leading providers give investors a competitive advantage, enabling them to act quickly and decisively, increasing the chances of favorable outcomes.
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