Mr. A K Chowdhury passes away

We mourn the loss of our beloved Chairman Mr. A K Chowdhury. His contribution to the inception and development of CRISL is immeasurable and deeply appreciated.

May Allah bless him with the best of Akhirat.

First- Ever Pourashava Credit Rating in Bangladesh completed by Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL)

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CRISL, the leading and pioneer Credit Rating Agency of the country has successfully rated the First ten (10) ‘A’ Grade Municipalities (Pourashavas) of Bangladesh. The rated Pourashavas are Feni, Chandpur, Pabna, Sirajgonj, B.Baria, Bagerhat, Bhola, Cox’s Bazar, Faridpur and Kushtia. This unique project has been initiated by United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). On October 14th, 2017 in a simple handover ceremony, CRISL President & CEO Mr. Muzaffar Ahmed FCMA, FCS formally handed over the credit rating reports to Mr. Jesmul Hasan Program Analyst, UNCDF. Mr. Syed Hasinur Rahman, Managing Director, Bangladesh Municipal Development Funding (BMDF) attended the programme as Chief Guest, while Mr. Arijit Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance was present as Special Guest. The meeting was Chaired by Mr. A K Chowdhury, CRISL Chairman while Mr. Muzaffar Ahmed President and CEO along with the professional team of CRISL attended the ceremony.
In his address BMDF Managing Director Mr. Syed Hasinur Rahman said municipalities in Bangladesh largely depend on Government fund to carry out development activities. Mr. Rahman underscored the need of municipality rating to assess the ability & creditworthiness of municipality in case of issuing municipal bond.
Mr. Arijit Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance in his address termed the CRISL ratings as historic experience for first of its kind in Bangladesh. He emphasized the necessity of continuation of such rating to understand the Pourashava’s competitive position.
Mr. Jesmul Hasan, Program Analyst, UNCDF, in his address highly applauded CRISL for its thorough analysis and emphasized that these Municipality Credit Rating Reports have already
set up a high standard of work for international communities. CRISL’s Pourashava Credit Rating Reports, initiated by UNCDF will open a window of opportunity for the Local Government Institutions to go for public funding from capital market of Bangladesh.
Mr. Muzaffar Ahmed FCMA FCS, the President and CEO of CRISL highlighted the finding of the Credit Analysis of the Pourashavas, indicating the opportunities, shortcomings and investment worthiness of each respective Pourashava. He emphasised that the Pourashava needs long term financing for infrastructure development. Although the initial funding may come from government development fund or from donor agencies, these may not be enough when a Pourashava graduates to maturity and attains capacity to repay any long term borrowing. The 10 Pourashavas rated by CRISL reflects its repayment capacity of long term fund instalments.