Mumbai: Rating agency Crisil has entered into an agreement with ICICI Foundation and IFMR Trust to rate micro finance institutions (MFIs), urban local bodies (ULBs) and help them develop into commercially viable entities.

Under the agreement, Crisil will rate micro finance institutions (MFIs), urban local bodies (ULBs) and vocational training institutes to enable these entities to attract more investments, Crisil's managing director & CEO, Roopa Kudva, said.

''Our rating will enable MFIs and ULBs to access funding from mainstream investors and lenders. Vocational training institutes can use these ratings to build credibility and improve placements for their students," Kudva said.

Crisil will develop a criteria and rating standards to rate the fund-starved small-sized institutions across the country in association with IFMR Trust and ICICI Foundation, Kudva said.

Crisil will also publish and disseminate rating criteria for such entities.

''The agreement will help to develop new models that will significantly expand the set of market-based opportunities available to low income households," ICICI Foundation's president, Nachiket Mor said.

''The most important element of ICICI Foundation's strategy to achieve its mission is to ensure that mainstream markets can be made more responsive to the needs of the poor.  IFMR Trust is an entity that is completely focused on this task. ICICI Foundation is very pleased to facilitate the partnership between Crisil and IFMR Trust. It is our belief that this partnership will make it possible for both these entities to develop new models that will significantly expand the set of market based opportunities available to low income households.'' Nachiket Mor said.

IFMR Trust will facilitate this process by providing access to enterprises working in these areas and ICICI Foundation will play a role in ensuring wide dissemination of these products developed under this MoU. 

''This collaboration will tremendously accelerate financial markets access for a variety of emergent asset classes including microfinance, SME/rural supply chain finance and municipal finance. IFMR Trust will work with Crisil to develop market standards for these asset classes and partner with ICICI Foundation to disseminate and train a broad set of market participants, '' said Bindu Ananth, president of IFMR Trust.