marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

106
Marketing and Analysis of Credit Rating Products Of SME. Rating Agency PROJECT REPORT Submitted to Punjab Technical university of Jalandhar to partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Submitted by: VIKAS BAGHLA University rolls no. 7116223134 BATCH (2007-09) Under guidance of:

Transcript of marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Page 1: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Marketing and Analysis of

Credit Rating Products

Of

SME Rating Agency

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to Punjab Technical university of Jalandhar to partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted by

VIKAS BAGHLA

University rolls no 7116223134

BATCH (2007-09)

Under guidance of

Mr Dinesh Seth

Business Associate

SMERA Rating agency of India Ltd

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely feel that the guidance and support extended towards me by all the members of SME

RATING AGENCY OF INDIA LTD was more than I could expect I express our immense

gratitude towards all the members of this organization

They really made my learning experience the most memorable and respectable one It was a great

honor to be associated with a company as prestigious and socially dedicated as the SMERA

Enterprise

First of all I wish to express my profound gratitude and sincere thanks to Dr BS Bhatia (Dir

Gen RIMT-IMCT Mandi Gobindgarh)

I take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Mr Dinesh Seth my project guide

without whose guidance and support I could not have completed my project

A special thanks to my parents and dear friends for her constant support and sustenance which

kept me motivated

I am grateful to all of them for providing a very favorable learning environment for me

Compiled By

Vikas Baghla

2

PREFACE

To manage the complex and sophisticated organizations in the rapidly changing and competing

environment a manager is supposed to have in depth knowledge of the latest management

techniques Therefore to cope up with the various industrial problems in an organization training

for executive at various hierarchical levels is must That is why various universities and institutions

are running Commerce courses and Management courses of which this vocational training is a part

During my summer training at SME RATING AGENCY OF INDIA LTD I concentrated on the

project lsquoSales Promotion of SMERA products in dist Ferozpur

I am very thankful to Ms DALBIR who gave me proper guidance in the completion of my project

report

3

Contents

Chapter Topics

The Background

Marketing Research

Chapter 1 Introduction of Title

Chapter 2 Introduction of credit rating

Chapter 3 Introduction of SMERA

Chapter4 The Study of Organization

Sources of data

Objectives

Scope of Study

Research Methodology

Chapter5 Finding and Results

Chapter 6 Learning Limitations and Conclusion

Annexure

Questionnaire

Bibliography

4

THE BACKGROUND

Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification collection analysis

and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making

related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing

1) Identification Involves defining the marketing research problem (or opportunity) and

determining the information that is needed to address it

2) Collection Data must be obtained from relevant sources

3) Analysis Data are analyzed interpreted and inferences are drawn

4) Dissemination of information The findings implications and recommendations are

provided in a format that makes this information actionable and directly useful as an

input into decision-making

5

Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems

Generate refine and evaluate marketing performance

Monitor marketing performance

Improve understanding of marketing as a process

Marketing Research

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 2: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely feel that the guidance and support extended towards me by all the members of SME

RATING AGENCY OF INDIA LTD was more than I could expect I express our immense

gratitude towards all the members of this organization

They really made my learning experience the most memorable and respectable one It was a great

honor to be associated with a company as prestigious and socially dedicated as the SMERA

Enterprise

First of all I wish to express my profound gratitude and sincere thanks to Dr BS Bhatia (Dir

Gen RIMT-IMCT Mandi Gobindgarh)

I take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Mr Dinesh Seth my project guide

without whose guidance and support I could not have completed my project

A special thanks to my parents and dear friends for her constant support and sustenance which

kept me motivated

I am grateful to all of them for providing a very favorable learning environment for me

Compiled By

Vikas Baghla

2

PREFACE

To manage the complex and sophisticated organizations in the rapidly changing and competing

environment a manager is supposed to have in depth knowledge of the latest management

techniques Therefore to cope up with the various industrial problems in an organization training

for executive at various hierarchical levels is must That is why various universities and institutions

are running Commerce courses and Management courses of which this vocational training is a part

During my summer training at SME RATING AGENCY OF INDIA LTD I concentrated on the

project lsquoSales Promotion of SMERA products in dist Ferozpur

I am very thankful to Ms DALBIR who gave me proper guidance in the completion of my project

report

3

Contents

Chapter Topics

The Background

Marketing Research

Chapter 1 Introduction of Title

Chapter 2 Introduction of credit rating

Chapter 3 Introduction of SMERA

Chapter4 The Study of Organization

Sources of data

Objectives

Scope of Study

Research Methodology

Chapter5 Finding and Results

Chapter 6 Learning Limitations and Conclusion

Annexure

Questionnaire

Bibliography

4

THE BACKGROUND

Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification collection analysis

and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making

related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing

1) Identification Involves defining the marketing research problem (or opportunity) and

determining the information that is needed to address it

2) Collection Data must be obtained from relevant sources

3) Analysis Data are analyzed interpreted and inferences are drawn

4) Dissemination of information The findings implications and recommendations are

provided in a format that makes this information actionable and directly useful as an

input into decision-making

5

Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems

Generate refine and evaluate marketing performance

Monitor marketing performance

Improve understanding of marketing as a process

Marketing Research

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 3: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

PREFACE

To manage the complex and sophisticated organizations in the rapidly changing and competing

environment a manager is supposed to have in depth knowledge of the latest management

techniques Therefore to cope up with the various industrial problems in an organization training

for executive at various hierarchical levels is must That is why various universities and institutions

are running Commerce courses and Management courses of which this vocational training is a part

During my summer training at SME RATING AGENCY OF INDIA LTD I concentrated on the

project lsquoSales Promotion of SMERA products in dist Ferozpur

I am very thankful to Ms DALBIR who gave me proper guidance in the completion of my project

report

3

Contents

Chapter Topics

The Background

Marketing Research

Chapter 1 Introduction of Title

Chapter 2 Introduction of credit rating

Chapter 3 Introduction of SMERA

Chapter4 The Study of Organization

Sources of data

Objectives

Scope of Study

Research Methodology

Chapter5 Finding and Results

Chapter 6 Learning Limitations and Conclusion

Annexure

Questionnaire

Bibliography

4

THE BACKGROUND

Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification collection analysis

and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making

related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing

1) Identification Involves defining the marketing research problem (or opportunity) and

determining the information that is needed to address it

2) Collection Data must be obtained from relevant sources

3) Analysis Data are analyzed interpreted and inferences are drawn

4) Dissemination of information The findings implications and recommendations are

provided in a format that makes this information actionable and directly useful as an

input into decision-making

5

Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems

Generate refine and evaluate marketing performance

Monitor marketing performance

Improve understanding of marketing as a process

Marketing Research

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 4: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Contents

Chapter Topics

The Background

Marketing Research

Chapter 1 Introduction of Title

Chapter 2 Introduction of credit rating

Chapter 3 Introduction of SMERA

Chapter4 The Study of Organization

Sources of data

Objectives

Scope of Study

Research Methodology

Chapter5 Finding and Results

Chapter 6 Learning Limitations and Conclusion

Annexure

Questionnaire

Bibliography

4

THE BACKGROUND

Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification collection analysis

and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making

related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing

1) Identification Involves defining the marketing research problem (or opportunity) and

determining the information that is needed to address it

2) Collection Data must be obtained from relevant sources

3) Analysis Data are analyzed interpreted and inferences are drawn

4) Dissemination of information The findings implications and recommendations are

provided in a format that makes this information actionable and directly useful as an

input into decision-making

5

Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems

Generate refine and evaluate marketing performance

Monitor marketing performance

Improve understanding of marketing as a process

Marketing Research

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 5: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

THE BACKGROUND

Marketing research is defined as the systematic and objective identification collection analysis

and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making

related to the identification and solution of problems (and opportunities) in marketing

1) Identification Involves defining the marketing research problem (or opportunity) and

determining the information that is needed to address it

2) Collection Data must be obtained from relevant sources

3) Analysis Data are analyzed interpreted and inferences are drawn

4) Dissemination of information The findings implications and recommendations are

provided in a format that makes this information actionable and directly useful as an

input into decision-making

5

Used to identify and define market opportunities and problems

Generate refine and evaluate marketing performance

Monitor marketing performance

Improve understanding of marketing as a process

Marketing Research

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 6: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

6

Marketing Research

Problem Identification Research

Problem Solving Research

Market Potential ResearchMarket Share ResearchMarket Characteristics ResearchSales Analysis ResearchForecasting ResearchBusiness Trends Research

Segmentation ResearchProduct ResearchPromotion ResearchDistribution Research

A Classification of Marketing Research

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 7: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Steps involved in the marketing research process are -

1) Problem definition Defining the marketing research problem to be addressed is the most

important step because all other steps will be based on this definition

2) Developing an approach to the problem Development of a broad specification of how the

problem will be addressed allows the researcher to break the problem into salient issues and

manageable pieces

3) Research design formulation A framework for conducting the marketing research project that

specifies the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information It details the

statistical methodology needed to solve the problem and thus the data requirements needed

from data collection

4) Fieldwork or data collection A field force (personal interviewing phone mail or electronic

surveys) gathers project data Although seemingly trivial in nature to obtain meaningful

results field workers must be accurate and thorough in data collection

5) Data preparation and analysis The editing coding transcription and verification of data

allow researchers to derive meaning from the data

6) Report preparation and presentation The findings are communicated to the client The report

should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition describe

the approach the research design data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted

and present the results and the major findings

Marketing research provides the information for decision makers at each step of the marketing

decision process It is the goal of marketing research to provide relevant accurate reliable valid

and current information to management in order to facilitate managerial decisions Each of these

characteristics can be defined for as

7

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 8: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Information that is relevant addresses the problem or issue being investigated

Information that is accurate correct and precise

Information that is reliable and originates from competent trustworthy sources

Information that is valid and is applicable to the problem at hand

Information that is current is timely and up-to-date for both the industry and issue under

consideration

There are two types of market research suppliers

Internal suppliermdasha marketing research department located within the firm where all the

marketing research staff members are employees of the firm Most major corporations have

their own marketing research departments

External suppliermdashresearch suppliers that are not a part of the firm The external supplier may

offer the entire range of marketing services including problem definition developing an

approach questionnaire design sampling data collection data analysis interpretation and

report preparation and presentation

Services offered by a full-service marketing research supplier are

1) Syndicated services Offered by research organizations that provide information from a

common database to different firms that subscribe to their services

2) Standardized services Research studies conducted for different client firms but always in the

same way

3) Customized services Offer a wide variety of marketing research services Customized or

tailor-made to suit the specific needs of a particular client

4) Internet services Offered by firms that have specialized in conducting marketing research on

the Internet

8

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 9: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Services offered by a limited-service marketing research supplier are

1) Coding and data entry services The supplier will take the administered questionnaires edit

them develop a coding scheme and transcribe the data onto diskettes or magnetic tapes for

input into the computer

2) Analytical services These services include questionnaire design and pre ndash testing determining

the best means of collecting data sampling plans and other aspects of the research design

3) Data analysis services Offer sophisticated data analysis using multivariate techniques

4) Branded product and services Consist of specialized data collection and analysis

procedures developed to address specific types of marketing research problems

9

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 10: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

OF

TITLE

10

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 11: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

INTRODUCTION

Sales promotions are activities that shape buying patterns attract new audiences or increase sales

Its garbage of a word that encompasses everything that falls outside advertising publicity and

direct marketing although these might be used to deliver your sales promotions

Most textbooks see sales promotion as interfacing with price - this writer believes sales promotions

are broader than this Too often people think discounts are synonymous with sales promotion - not

true Sales promotions can include the provision of sampling or learning opportunities joint

promotions or collaborations with third Party networks special events giveaways and

competitions discounts incentives value adding and rewards

In this section we will also look at distribution and display of promotional materials mainly

because there is nowhere else for them to go

Imaginatively and carefully planned sales promotions can deliver long-term benefits to your

organization Too often they are used as an afterthought to get people through the door Not

surprisingly they usually look like last minute panic measures and that can signal failure not

success

One well-planned far-reaching promotion is better than heaps of little one-offs that bear no relation

to your overall strategy The work involved in developing sales promotions can often outweigh the

apparent benefit - if you measure the results in the broadest possible context you just might find

you have successfully reached people outside the inner arts circle

As the term implies - the ultimate goal is sales or transactions However promotions can be

planned to increase sales over a long period within a specific market segment so it is not always

about immediate results

11

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 12: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Why do it

Good sales promotions say something about your work and who you are They can be an

inexpensive way of increasing awareness of reaching new buyers or extending the buying choices

of existing audiences As inessential part of your campaign they should be planned from the

beginning While sales promotions can often be done cheaply there should always be a line item

for this activity in your budget no matter how small Because sales promotions often involve

working with other organizations they can open doors into the wider community By building

mutually beneficial relationships you could also be paving the way for sponsorship

Remember never devalue your product This is really easy to do if you are desperate which is why

the best sales promotions are usually planned well in advance

Follow our step-by-step guide Sales promotion how to do it

ANALYSE THE BENEFITS

When you are identifying possible sales promotions make sure that everyone involved including

the customer benefits

The benefits might be

1048698 access to communications channels such as lists clients or advertising

1048698 the feel good factor the association creates for clients or customers

1048698 reinforcement of the companys image

1048698 provision of rewards to clients or audiences

1048698 stimulation from working and learning from each other

1048698-increased sales

1048698 better seats priority booking private viewings cheaper prices learning opportunities and so on

12

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 13: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

IDENTIFY OUTLETS FOR YOUR PROMOTION

Distribution and display

The fliers are sitting in a nice pile in your office Now to the real point of print getting it into the

right hands

Tip Distribution and display

The media

Media are widely used to deliver sales promotions usually in the form of reader offers or

competitions

Tip Media promotions

Networks

Tapping into outside networks can be very cost effective and help you reach hundreds or thousands

of people These might include large employers credit card companies travel agencies

associations such as Rotary manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods such as milk and so on

There is a range of service organizations who communicate regularly with their members such as

The Writers Guild Australian Music Centre National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Council- run community centers and many more

Tip Creating networks

Comment Extending your networks

Comment Cultural tourism

Events

An event can often be a form of sales promotion - if it is designed to reach new audiences or is

devised to encourage attendance at future events

Tip Using events

Comment The sports link

13

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 14: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Establishing strategic alliances

Certain communities are large motivated and very well organized the gay and lesbian community

for example or some ethnic communities Work with them their publications and invite these

communities to become a part of your organization planning ways to produce mutual benefit

Approaches can range from artists residencies or going to their community centers to charity

appeals to discounted tickets it depends on the needs of the particular community

Sponsors

Sponsors can introduce you to new networks they are also often looking for ways to provide

benefits for their staff This is an excellent way to extend your reach and attract new audiences

Sponsor receptions often-bringin visitors who are new to the art form find ways to increase their

appreciation and enjoyment of the occasion beyond providing champagne and canapeacutes This could

be sending programs in advance or inviting the artist curator or theatre director to talk about the

production at the pre-performance reception Even a signed poster can be a treasured memento of

the occasion

DESIGNING THE RESPONSE AND THE FOLLOW UP

Sometimes promotions do not realize their full potential because the response mechanism is too

complicated or unclear It should be easy to respond by ticking a box picking up the phone

handing over the coupon and soon There is a risk in giving people too many choices as it can take

too long to work out what to do On the other hand customers like offers to be as flexible as

possible

PACKAGING PREMIUMS AND DISCOUNTS

Packages can range from subscription a concept most people are familiar with to

14

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 15: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Premium packages

Dinner parking amp ticket which is sometimes called up-pricing premium pricing or adding value to

the evening It could be as simple as including a bottle or glass of champagne providing valet

parking or an opportunity to see the exhibition when the general public is not there

Membership schemes

Membership schemes encourage long term loyalty to an organization and offer special prices or

private rooms or exclusive events targeted at the interests and lifestyle of the membership These

schemes are becoming increasingly important to all kinds of arts organizations

Discount packages

1048698 2fers or buy one get one free these are best targeted at people who attendbuy infrequently

Money is rarely a deterrent to the more typical arts attender unless they are very frequent users

1048698 cross art form deals these recognize that many people are eclectic and want a range of arts

experiences It is hard to get these right and they seem to work best when packaged at one venue

under recognizable brand

1048698 Group bookings these encourage bulk purchase by providing a special price for groups The

heart-ofgoldgroup organizer is a dying breed so companies are now making it easier to get a

group together by reducing the party size from 20 to 10 or even 6

1048698 School bookings group packages also exist for schools Usually the teacher is given a free pass

and a ratio of pupils to teacher is often specified

1048698 Multi-tix special prices can be offered to people buying three or more events in a period for

example during a festival This is a hybrid of the subscription concept that aims to increase

transaction levels through price

15

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 16: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Lifestyle packages

1048698 Babysitting packages where baby-sitting services or cregraveches are provided recognize the needs

of mothers families have greater pressures on their time and money and finding ways to make

it easier for them to be part of your organization will reap rewards

1048698 Sunday brunch afternoon tea sunset or late night events are designed to fit in with and enhance

peoples lifestyle

1048698 Youth offers like rush tickets special prices special drinks themed events and other features

recognize the lifestyle needs of young people interested in your work

Incentives

1048698 these can be gifts provided with the purchase of subscription or membership to an organization

eg key rings fridge magnets diaries calendars CDs There is little evidence that these

increase sales but they can generate loyalty and good will

1048698 large corporations are also looking for incentives to give to their staff or clients and arts

companies are well positioned to provide these (discounts should not apply)

This is just the teeny tip of a very large iceberg

16

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 17: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION

OF

CREDIT

RATING

17

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 18: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Credit rating

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual corporation or even a country

Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities Typically a

credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan

However in recent years credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums

determine employment eligibility and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

Especially in context for sme earlier the which credit was done by the bank was not beneficial in

respect of sme because the prior credit rating includes analyses of few thing like past payment

record profit and loss account and another fact of balance sheet of three financial year so give the

all benefits earlier which was not given due to ignorance was avail by credit rating through by

credit ratings Third party rating has been gaining ground in our due to the fact that the lending

institutions have been asked to maintain adequate capital by the rbi as per Basel norms to maintain

the said adequacy the bank and finned to exhibit the classification of the units so that distinction

for good and bad units can be made and subsequently the provisioning for the said units can be

made accordingly

Credit rating agency

A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types

of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves In some cases the servicers of the

underlying debt are also given ratings In most cases the issuers of securities are companies

special purpose entities state and local governments non-profit organizations or national

governments issuing debt-like securities (ie bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market A

credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness (ie its ability to

pay back a loan) and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued (In

contrast to CRAs a company that issues credit scores for individual credit-worthiness is generally

called a credit bureau or consumer credit reporting agency)

18

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 19: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

In respect of india there are many credit rating agancy few of them are as

shown below

1 Smera

2 Crisil

3 Care

4 Fitch

5 Onicra

6 Dampb

7 Icra

They provide credit rating evaluating the sme at different pramitter

Personal credit ratings

A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan and thus leads to high interest

rates or the refusal of a loan by the creditor

In the United States an individuals credit history is compiled and maintained by companies called

credit bureaus Credit worthiness is usually determined through a statistical analysis of the available

credit data A common form of this analysis is a 3-digit credit score provided by independent

financial service companies such as the FICO credit score (The term a registered trademark

comes from Fair Isaac Corporation which pioneered the credit rating concept in the late 1950s)

An individuals credit score along with his or her credit report affects his or her ability to borrow

money through financial institutions such as banks

In Canada the most common ratings are the North American Standard Account Ratings also

known as the R ratings which have a range between R0 and R9 R0 refers to a new account R1

refers to on-time payments R9 refers to bad debt

The factors which may influence a persons credit rating are

1) ability to pay a loan 2) interest 3)amount of credit used

4) saving patterns 5)spending patterns 6) debt

19

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 20: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Corporate credit ratings

[The credit rating of a corporation is a financial indicator to potential investors of debt securities

such as bonds These are assigned by credit rating agencies such as Standard amp Poors Moodys or

Fitch Ratings and have letter designations such as AAA B CC The Standard amp Poors rating scale

is as follows AAA AA A BBB BB B CCC CC C D Anything lower than a BBB rating is

considered a speculative or junk bond The Moodys rating system is similar in concept but the

verbage is a little different

It is as follows

AAA

Aa1 Aa2 Aa3

A1 A2 A3

Baa1 Baa2 Baa3

Ba1 Ba2 Ba3

B1 B2 B3

Caa1 Caa2 Caa3

Ca

C

Sovereign credit

ratings

Cont Risk rankings

Least risky countries

Score out of 100

Rank

Previous Country Overall score

1 1 Luxembourg 9988

2 2 Norway 9747

3 3 Switzerland 9621

4 4 Denmark 9339

5 5 Sweden 9296

6 6 Ireland 9236

7 10 Austria 9225

8 9 Finland 9195

9 8 Netherlands 9195

10 7 United States 9127

20

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 21: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

A sovereign credit rating is the credit rating of a sovereign entity ie a country The sovereign

credit rating indicates the risk level of the investing environment of a country and is used by

investors looking to invest abroad It takes political risk into account

The table shows the ten least-risky countries for investment as of March 2008 Ratings are further

broken down into components including political risk economic risk Euromoneys bi-annual

country risk index Country risk surveymonitors the political and economic stability of 185

21

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 22: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

sovereign countries Results focus foremost on economics specifically sovereign default risk

andor payment default risk for exporters (aka trade credit risk)

Short term rating

A short term rating is a probability factor of an individual going into default within a year This is

in contrast to long-term rating which is evaluated over a long timeframe

Credit scores for individuals are assigned by credit bureaus (US UK credit reference agencies)

Credit ratings for corporations and sovereign debt are assigned by credit rating agencies

In the United States the main credit bureaus are Experian Equifax and TransUnion A relatively

new credit bureau in the US is Innovis

In the United Kingdom the main credit reference agencies for individuals are Experian Equifax

and Callcredit There is no universal credit rating as such rather each individual lender credit

scores based on its own wish-list of a perfect customer

In Canada the main credit bureaus for individuals are Equifax TransUnion and Northern Credit

Bureaus Experian

In India the main credit bureaus are CRISIL ICRA and Credit Registration Office (CRO)

The largest credit rating agencies (which tend to operate worldwide) are Moodys Standard and

Poors and Fitch Ratings

CREDIT RISK

Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either

the principal or interest (coupan) or both)

Faced by lenders to consumers

Most lenders employ their own models (Credit Scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers

according to risk and then apply appropriate strategies With products such as unsecured personal

loans or mortgages lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa With

22

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 23: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts risk is controlled through careful setting of

credit limits Some products also require security most commonly in the form of property

Faced by lenders to business

Lenders will trade off the costbenefits of a loan according to its risks and the interest charged But

interest rates are not the only method to compensate for risk Protective covenants are written into

loan agreements that allow the lender some controls These covenants may

limit the borrowers ability to weaken his balance sheet voluntarily eg by buying back shares

or paying dividends or borrowing further

allow for monitoring the debt requiring audits and monthly reports

allow the lender to decide when he can recall the loan based on specific events or when

financial ratios like debtequity or interest coverage deteriorate

A recent innovation to protect lenders and bond holders from the danger of default are credit

derivatives most commonly in the form of a credit default swap These financial contracts allow

companies to buy protection against defaults from a third party the protection seller The protection

seller receives a periodic fee (the credit spread) as compensation for the risk it takes and in return it

agrees to buy the debt should a credit event (default) occur

Faced by business

Companies carry credit risk when for example they do not demand up-front cash payment for

products or services By delivering the product or service first and billing the customer later - if its

a business customer the terms may be quoted as net 30 - the company is carrying a risk between the

delivery and payment

Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk Some

companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their

customers and extend credit (or not) accordingly They may use in house programs to advise on

avoiding reducing and transferring risk They also use third party provided intelligence

23

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 24: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Companies like Standard amp Poors Moodys and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a

fee

For example a distributor selling its products to a troubled retailer may attempt to lessen credit risk

by tightening payment terms to net 15 or by actually selling fewer products on credit to the

retailer or even cutting off credit entirely and demanding payment in advance Such strategies

impact sales volume but reduce exposure to credit risk and subsequent payment defaults

Credit risk is not really manageable for very small companies (ie those with only one or two

customers) This makes these companies very vulnerable to defaults or even payment delays by

their customers

The use of a collection agency is not really a tool to manage credit risk rather it is an extreme

measure closer to a write down in that the creditor expects a below-agreed return after the

collection agency takes its share (if it is able to get anything at all)

Faced by individuals

Consumers may face credit risk in a direct form as depositors at banks or as investorslenders They

may also face credit risk when entering into standard commercial transactions by providing a

deposit to their counterparty eg for a large purchase or a real estate rental Employees of any firm

also depend on the firms ability to pay wages and are exposed to the credit risk of their employer

In some cases governments recognize that an individuals capacity to evaluate credit risk may be

limited and the risk may reduce economic efficiency governments may enact various legal

measures or mechanisms with the intention of protecting consumers against some of these risks

Bank deposits notably are insured in many countries (to some maximum amount) for individuals

effectively limiting their credit risk to banks and increasing their willingness to use the banking

system

24

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 25: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Credit history

Credit history or credit report is in many countries a record of an individuals or companys past

borrowing and repaying including information about late payments and bankruptcy The term

credit reputation can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score

In the US when a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank store or credit card

company their information is forwarded to a credit bureau The credit bureau matches the name

address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the

bureau in its files

This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individuals

credit worthiness that is determining an individuals willingness to repay a debt The willingness

to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders Lenders

like to see consumer debt obligations paid on a monthly basis

The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is

dependent on income The higher the income all other things being equal the more credit the

consumer can access However lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to

repay a debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated in the past payment history

These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit and on what terms With the

adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry this report

has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual

percentage rate (APR) grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan

How credit rating is determined

Credit ratings are determined differently in each country but the factors are similar and may

include

Payment record - a record of bills being overdue generally being more than 30 days will lower

the credit rating

25

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 26: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Control of debt - Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means Experts

estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15

percent of the borrowers after tax income

Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the

borrowers home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability

Re-Aging - Through re-aging a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on

that particular account This can dramatically improve the credit score In 2000 the Federal

Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFEIC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts

for delinquent borrowers

Credit outstanding--Lenders dont like to see the amount of credit owed bumping up against the

credit limit of a card Generally a good idea is to owe no more than one-third of your total

credit limit on a credit card

Credit inquiries ndash An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file There are several kinds of

notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score Soft pulls dont affect

the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples

A credit bureau may sell a persons contact information to an advertiser wanting to offer credit

cards loans and insurance based on certain criteria that the lender has established A creditor also

checks a persons credit periodically Or a credit counseling agency with the clients permission

can obtain a clients credit report with no adverse action Each of the preceding examples are

commonly referred to as a soft credit pull

However hard credit inquiries are made by lenders when consumers are seeking credit or a loan

Lenders when granted a permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act can

check a credit history for the purposes of extending credit to a consumer Hard inquiries from

lenders directly affect the borrowers credit score Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a

persons credit rating A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a

persons report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will

possibly consider that person a poor credit risk

26

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 27: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have

an adverse effect on a credit score closing these lines of credit will not improve your score The

credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the

amount being used so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit And the

lower the percentage of available credit the more the credit score will drop The credit formula also

factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open so closing an account with several

years of history is another avoidable credit mistake

Understanding credit reports and scores

The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and

Credit Score This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with

explanations of the notations and codes that are used It also contains general information on how

to build or improve credit history and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred The

publication is available online at httpwwwfcacgcca the site of the Financial Consumer Agency

of Canada Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada

Credit History of Immigrants

Credit history usually applies to only one country Even within the same credit card network

information is not shared between different countries For example if a person has been living in

Canada for many years and then moves to the United States when they apply for credit cards or a

mortgage in the US they would usually not be approved because of a lack of credit history even

if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country and even if they had a very high salary

in their home country

An immigrant must establish a credit history from scratch in the new country Therefore it is

usually very difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have

worked in the new country with a stable income for several years

Adverse Credit

Adverse credit history also called sub-prime credit history non-status credit history

impaired credit history poor credit history and bad credit history is a negative credit rating

27

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 28: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for

the purposes of loaning money or capital

In the US a consumers credit history is compiled by credit rating agencies more commonly

referred to as consumer reporting agencies or credit bureaus The data reported to these agencies

are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a

person has with the lender Detailed account information including payment history credit limits

high and low balances and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts are all reported

regularly (usually monthly) This information is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to

approve a loan and on what terms

As credit became more popular it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit

card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner To address this issue credit scoring

was adopted

Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical

value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness Scores frequently based on numbers

(ranging from 300-850 for consumers in the United States) statistically analyze a credit history in

comparison to other debtors and gauge the magnitude of financial risk Since lending money to a

person or company is a risk credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk

rapidly and without prejudiceAll credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental

service

Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation The

higher the score the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be

repaid on time When creditors report an excessive number of late payments or trouble with

collecting payments the score suffers Similarly when adverse judgments and collection agency

activity are reported the score decreases even more Repeated delinquencies or public record

entries can lower the score and trigger what is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit

history

When a lender requests a credit score it can cause a small drop in the credit score That is because

as stated above a number of inquiries over a relatively short period of time can indicate the

consumer is in a financially difficult situation

28

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 29: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Consequences

The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering

whether to offer credit to individuals or companies It is also available to other entities with a

permissible purpose as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act The consequence of a negative

credit rating is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for

credit under favorable terms if at all Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit

historymdashthe higher the credit rating the lower the interest while the lower the credit rating the

higher the interest The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low

credit rating group of individuals

In the United States in certain cases insurance housing and employment can also be denied based

on a negative credit rating

Note that is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse It is

the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision each lender has its own policy on what

scores fall within their guidelines The specific scores that fall within a lenders guidelines are most

often NOT disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons In the United States a creditor is

required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide

the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the

decision

More than One Credit History Per Person

In some countries people can have more than one credit history For example in Canada although

most Canadians are not aware of it every person who applied for credit before obtaining a Social

Insurance Number has two separate credit histories one with SIN and one without SIN This is due

to the credit reporting structure in Canada This can lead to two completely separate parallel

histories and often leads to inconsistencies (although typically the person in question will never

notice the inconsistencies) because when a lender asks for someones credit report with SIN what

the lender gets is different from what he would have gotten if he asked the report without providing

the SIN This is because contrary to popular belief when someone gets a new SIN for whatever

reason the two credit files are never merged unless the person requests specifically As a result a

29

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 30: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

record with SIN zeroed out is kept separately from a record with SIN Note this happens without

the person even knowing it

Credit score

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a persons credit files to

represent the creditworthiness of that person which is the perceived likelihood that the person will

pay debts in a timely manner A credit score is primarily based on credit report information

typically sourced from credit bureaus credit reference agencies

Lenders such as banks and credit card companies use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk

posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt Lenders use credit

scores to determine who qualifies for a loan at what interest rate and what credit limits The use of

credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a

trusted system

Credit scoring is not limited to banks Other organizations such as mobile phone companies

insurance companies employers and government departments employ the same techniques Credit

scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining which uses many similar techniques

30

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 31: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

CHAPTER- 3

INTRODUCTION

OF

SMERA

SMERA ndash AN INTRODUCTION

31

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 32: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Smera stands for small and the hon Finance minister shri launched medium enterprises rating

agency of India limited on The 5th September 2005 P Chidambram and it is a joint initiative

between 11 major banks and financial institutions

Since the major rating agency like crisil icra care and fitch focus more on the large corporate

sector the intricacies of small and medium sector industry can not be captured through the model

prepared for the large sector Keeping in view of this aspect the joint initiative of the above player

has brought in smera to the task of rating the sme

SMERA ndash INITIATIVE OF LEADERS

SME rating agency of India limited is a joint initiative by SIDBI (SMALL INDUSTRIES

DEVELOPMENT BANK) DUN amp BRADSTREET Credit information bureau (India) ltd And

several leading banks in the banks in the country

BANK OF BARODA INDIAN BANK

BANK OF INDIA ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

CANARA BANK PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CIBIL SIDBI

CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LIMITED STANDARD CHARTED BANK

DampB STATE BANK OF INDIA

ICICI BANK LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

SMERA is the countryrsquos first amp only dedicated rating agency that focuses primarily on the SME

segment SMERArsquos objective is to provide enterprise ratings that are comprehensive transparent

and reliable to facilitate easier and adequate credit from the banking sector to SMEs It is adjudged

as the ldquoOutstanding development projectrdquo for development of SME by association of development

financing institution in Asia and Pacific (ADIFIAP)

SMERA seeks to fill the information gap for SMEs through ratings which would enable them to

get credit on attractive terms

32

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 33: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Breeding ground for entrepreneurship- first generation is always SMEs- info Microsoft

Size matters- need for peer to peer comparison

Absence of instruments ndash therefore enterprise rating meaningful

Nuances of parameters are very pronounced across industries

Monitoring of credit quality at regular intervals

Greater role of risk management for both banks and SMERA

WHAT IS SMERA RATING

SMERA rating is an independent third party comprehensive assessment of the overall condition

of an SME

It takes into account not only the financial condition of the SME unit but also several qualitative

parameters that have bearing on credit worthiness of the SME unit

SMERA rating consists

Size indicator- categories SMES based on size to enable fair evaluation of each SME

amongst its peers

Condition indicator ndash consist of composite appraisal based on financial and qualitative

parameters

Why SMERA rating

With each bank having separate rating processes and disclosure requirements for the purpose of the

disbursing loans SMES find themselves spending significant time and effort while approaching

different banks for credit SMERAS comprehensive transparent and reliable rating process has a

wide acceptance within the banking system of the country SIDBI and a large number of public and

private banks in country actively support SMERA Such wide acceptance facilitates faster and

easier flow of credit from financial institutions to SMEs Further SMERA rating provides a

snapshot of strength and weakness of the SME unit that could be used by SME unit as vital for

self-improvement

33

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 34: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUTRE

SMERA launched on September 05 2005 by finance minister P Chidambaram

Joint initiative of SIDBI DampB CIBIL AND 11 BANKS

SIDBI - 22

DampB INDIA - 15

ICICI BANK - 11

SBI - 95

CITIGROUP - 5

CIBIL - 5

STANDARD CHARTED BANK - 45

7 PSBs 4 EACH - 28

Indiarsquos first and only rating agency dedicated to the SME segment

MOU PARTNERS

SMERA has tied up with leading banks that accept SMERA Rating in supplementing their

credit decisions relating to SME lending

ALLAHABAD BANK UNION BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF BARODA UNITED BANK OF INDIA

BANK OF INDIA VIJAYA BANK

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA WEST BENGAL FINANCIAL

CORPORATION CANARA BANK

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA CITIGROUP FINANCE (INDIA) LTD

CORPORATION BANK DENA BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD INDIAN BANK

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK STATE BANK OF BIKANER amp JAIPUR

STATE BANK OF INDIA STATE BANK OF PATIALA

SYNDICATE BANK UCO BANK

34

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 35: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

COMPETITIVE RATING FEE

The rating fee charged by SMERA is very completive It is further subsided to the extent of 75

for eligible SSI units under

lsquoNSIC ndash SMERA performance amp credit rating scheme

Revised SMERA Rating Fee May 1 2008

A NSIC SMERA Rating Fee for SSI Units eligible for subsidy

C A T E G O

RY

N E T W O R T

H

T U R N O V E R

lt 50

LAKH

50-200

LAKH

gt200

LAKH

A gt Rs 20 Crore 6742 10534 34270

B 5 Crore to 20

Crore 6742 10534 20225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore 6742 10534 15730

D Upto 1 Crore 6742 10534 12641

B For SME units not eligible for rating fee subsidy

35

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 36: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

(all figures in INR)

Category Networth Fee payable (Rs)

A gt 20 Crore 74270

B 5 Crore to 20 Crore) 60225

C 1 Crore to 5 Crore) 55730

D Upto 1 Crore 50562

Rating fees mentioned above are inclusive of applicable Service Tax (currently 1236)

The Rating fees applicable at the time of payment would be charged

Damp B D-U-N-S NUMBER

The DampB duns number is unique nine-digit identification number that facilities global recognition

for businesses The DampB duns number is recognized recommended and or required by 50 global

industry and trade associations

PEER EVALUATION

SMERA Ratings categories SMES based on size so that each SME is evaluated amongst its peers

This enables rational comparison of companies of the same size and industry segment thus ensuring

that the smaller companies are not at a disadvantage while applying for credit

RATING PARAMETERS

36

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 37: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Enhanced Market Standing

An SME unit having SMERA rating take into benchmarking SME performance in the backdrop of

industry dynamics and industry averages

TRAINING amp ADVISORY SERVICES

SMERA provides focused inputs on the rating rationale to the SME within the view to the help

SME in identifying the areas for self-improvement and capitalizing on the strengths of the

individual SME

FAVORABLE BORROWING TERMS

37

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 38: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

SMERA Ratings facilitate banks-lending institutions in reducing the turnaround time in processing

credit loan applications thereby providing SMEs access to timely and adequate credit A better

rating from SMERA leads to more favorable credit terms such as

Access to timely and adequate credit

Lower interest rate collateral requirement

Simplified lending norm

The following are the financial institutions providing preferential treatment for

well SMERA rated customershellip

BANK OF INDIA PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

CANARA BANK SIDBI

CORPORATION BANK SYNDICATE BANK

GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE LTD UNION BANK OF INDIA

INDIAN BANK UNITED BANK OF INDIA

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE VIJAYA BANK

SMERA- USP

SME focus- independent transparent comprehensive rating

Partnership with banks spanning the Indian banking

DampB as knowledge partner with global rating experience and expertise

Systematic and scientific basis for industry specific rating models

SCHEME OF RATING FACTORS

38

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 39: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

ADVANTAGE ndash EXTERNAL RATING

Internal risk rating models

Mostly financial parameters

Industry benchmarking- nil or limited

Generalization of SMES across geographic boundaries

Banks are involved as financiers

Looking to the past

Enterprise rating by SMERA

Rating beyond financials

Robust industry Industry benchmarking and also linked to size

Consideration to parameters specific to a geographic location

Ratings are neutral credit enhancement measures are not reckoned Looking beyond

NON- FINANCIAL PARAMETERS

39

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 40: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Employee count amp quality

Yearrsquos inexistence

Legal status

Main premises

Management qualifications

Management experience

Statutory compliance

Raw material Buyer supplier base

Energy plan

Capacity utilization

Sales- Dom amp exports

Nature of industry

Product line

Salespurchase from sister companies

Marketing network

Research amp development

Insurance converge

Litigation

Accounts audited certified

Awards amp qualitative certification

Location advantage

Site visit observation

Banking facilities

Achievability of financials

Analyst evaluation

BENEFITS OF SMERA RATING TO SMEs

40

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 41: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Ratings serve as motivation to adopt good governance practices which are beneficial in the long

run

Ratings help in international trade and commerce and serve as first point to generate interest

among potential trading partners

Good margins and improved profitability In business as a rated entity constantly drives itself on

path of progress and innovation

Provides additional comfort to the lenders in the form of independent third party transparent

assessment process

Supplements and supports internal decision making through third party validation

Rating robustness enhanced with CIBIL score

Strengths of SME units captured as model also considers qualitative parameters in addition to

financial results

Added credibility to the status of the SME unit

Access to bank finance much easier and simpler

Adequate quantum

Competitive rate of interest

Faster turnaround

Open doors to deal with large companies esp those who deal with a big number of vendors

Ratings convey intrinsic strength of the company While giving due respect to confidentially

requirements Qualitative services at competitive prices

Joint initiative of SIDBI DUN amp BRADSTREET and CIBIL and 11 leading banks operating in

S M E segment

Launched on the 5th September 2005 by the honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram

Completed around 2200 ratings till date

Greater acceptability in banks 13 banks offer interest rate and security concessions for well

rated SMERA customers

Wide recognition and acceptance and becoming key requirement in the loan application

process And also simplify the process of credit requests and make the process more cost

effective

Favorable borrowings terms This could include lower collateral requirement

41

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 42: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Lower interest rates- reduction in rate of interest from some nationalized banks ranging

between 25-1percent for well-rated S M E customers

Simplified lending norms

Faster access to credit

Fair evaluation amongst peers

Industry ndash benchmarked ratings

SMERA ndash CONTRIBUATION amp CHALLENGES

SMERA has undertaken risk profiling of S M E clusters as an ongoing activity

Participated organized more than 250 seminars workshops customers meets etc

Published emerging S M Es in India in association with DampB ndash auto components textiles food

processing and pharmaceutical Engineering and chemicals segments

Highlights of SMERA ratings

Provides ratings that are

gt Independent Neutral risk assessment

gt Comprehensive conducts an exhaustive due to Diligence process

gt Transparent Rating Rationale discussed with Rated entities

Enables S M Es in getting credit from banking sector at better terms Several banks have

internalized SMERA ratings and extend benefits to S M E customers rated by SMERA

42

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 43: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Milestones

Generated more than 2500 mandates from across the country

MOUs with 23 banks covering large section of Indian banking sector

SMERA has been sanctioned technical assistance under the World Bank led multi-lateral SME

Financing amp Development Programme

Adjudged as best SME Development Project in Asia-Pacific region

Offices at 12 locations ahmedabad Bangalore chandigarh Chennai combatore Delhi

Hyderabad jamshedpur kolkata amp ludhiana Mumbai surat amp pune

25 of SMERA rated clients received better credit terms from lenders

Distribution of rated cases

1) Auto Ancillary 68 2) Chemical 35

3) Electrical amp Engineering goods 203 4) Food and Agro 38

5) IT amp ITES 31 6) Manufacturing ndash Sundry 137

7) Mechanical 36 8) Metals amp Metal products 61

9) Others 139 10) Paper and Packaging 3

11) Pharmaceutical 45 12) Plastic 69

13 Rubber 17 14) Textile 87

43

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 44: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Chapter-4

THE STUDY

OF

ORGANISATION

44

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 45: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

SOURCES OF DATA

Internal data

Internal data are data available within the organization for which the research is being conducted

The information may be in a ready to use format or may require processing In our organization

data was found on the company server

External data

External data are data that originate external to the organization This data was found on company

websites it included published material online databases and some syndicated services

45

PRIMARY DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

DESCRIPTIVE CAUSAL

SURVEY

OBSERVATIONAL AND OTHER DATA

EXPERIMENTAL DATA

SECONDARY DATA

INTERNALEXTERNAL

READY TO USE

REQUIRES FURTHER

PROCESSING

PUBLISHED MATERIAL

COMPUTERIZED DATABASES

SYNDICATED SERVICES

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 46: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Qualitative research

An unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples that provides insights

and understanding of the problem setting

Quantitative research

A research methodology that seeks to quantify the data and typically applies some form of

statistical analysis Our research involved quantity we had a large number of representative cases

which had structured data collection and we also recommended a final course of action

SAMPLING

Sampling Design

The sample chosen from the target population for credit rating was based on the size of the

particular area of Dist Ferozpur as well as the number of SSI units present in that particular area

This was also done on the basis of convenience sampling

The customers were sampled on the basis of convenience sampling

Sample Size

The sample size from CHANNELS AND CORPORATES are 33 this included Abohar Fazilka

Guruharshai Jalalabad and Ferozpur The survey comes marketing was done in this area because

SMERA is an initiative for the development of the SME so it was a dual job

The market research was based on convenient sampling

46

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 47: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

OBJECTIVES

In lieu of the given project at hand the objectives can be categorized into two classes

Macro level

It is always helpful to get familiar with the market place where one trades

Macro objectives

To get familiar with the financial products used for credit rating in the business

It includes the organized as well as unorganized sector

Micro level

Micro objectives

To understand the contribution of the credit rating products for the development of the SSI

units

To understand the process of credit rating of a concern

To analyze the industry awareness regarding the SMERA products

To study the different market players their penetration and respective share

Some other objectives are

To explore more market opportunities Whatever opportunities those are in the market

To see consumer perception towards credit rating products To know what consumer thinks

about the SMERA products

To study market strategies How a company deals with the markets current scenario

SCOPE OF STUDY

The research is categorically classified into three sub-researches on the basis of the products

provided by the company Although the products provide similar solutions of billing through IT

solutions they essentially differ in their positioning and target markets The scope of this study

essentially includes the regions areas and the product categories in which the surveys have been

conducted The scope of the study can be broadly categorized into three scopes namely

Geographical scope

Product scope

47

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 48: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Time scope or extent of study

Geographical scope

The geographical scope covers areas from where the samples have been taken As the target

markets for the company products was spread over a huge area hence i had different regions

covered for each survey For the credit rating potential survey samples from the town of the

DistFerozpur region were taken as follows

DistFerozpur Area

Abohar

Fazilka

Guruharshai

Jalalabad

Zira

Talwandi Bhai

Ferozpur City

Ferozpur Cannt

Product scope

The product scope features the product category in which the research has been carried out The

product category of this study is the CREDIT RATING FOR THE SSI units The campaign

was spread over these areas that include only FOUR main categories which are as follows

Bankers awareness for rating

Rating of colleges and Institutes

Rating awareness of SSI units in the region

Time scope

The time scope of this study pertains to the available secondary data as well as the time span

involved in the collection of data through examining the samples for the researches

The secondary data was obtained from bankers of the region

48

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 49: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

The primary data collection has been done in the following manner during the specific time

periods

In Abohar

Bankers covered during 15june to 20 June

SSI units and Edu Institution covered during 21june to 28 June

In Fazilka

Bankers cover during 29 June to 5 july

SSI units covered during 6 July to 11 july

In Ferozpur

Bankers covered 13 july to 18 july

SSI units covered during 19 july to 25 july

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project it

details the procedure necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure andor solve

marketing research problems The research design provides a specific detail as to how to implement

the approach A good research design will ensure that marketing research project is conducted

effectively and efficiently Typically a research design involves the following components or

tasks

Define the information needed

Design the exploratory descriptive and or causal phases of the research

Specify the measurement and scaling procedures

Construct and pretest the questionnaire or an appropriate form of data collection

Specify the sampling process and sample size

Develop a plan for data analysis

Research designs may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive researches The primary

objective of exploratory research is to provide insights into and an understanding of the problem

confronting the researcher The information needed is only loosely defined at this stage and the

49

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 50: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

research process adopted is flexible and unstructured The primary data is qualitative in nature

Usually these researches are followed by further exploratory research or conclusive research

Conclusive research is done to assist the decision maker in determining evaluating and selecting

the best course of action to be taken in a given situation The objective of conclusive research is to

test specific hypotheses and examine specific relationships

The researches conducted in this study begin with a predominantly exploratory research design and

then continues towards a descriptive research design approach to arrive at the final findings and

courses of action The objective of the exploratory research is to explore or to search through the

problem or situation to provide insights and understanding exploratory researches can b used for

the following purposes

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely

Identify alternative courses of action

Develop hypothesis

Isolate key variables and relationships for further examination

Gain insights to develop an approach to a problem

Establish priorities for further research

50

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 51: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Knowing what the client wants is the key factor to success in any type of business And the best

way to find this information is to conduct a research or a survey As desired by the company the

method of research adopted was - Questionnaire A questionnaire is a structured technique for data

collection that consists of a series of questions which might be multiple choice numeric open-

ended or text open-ended

Objectives of a Questionnaire

Any questionnaire has three specific objectives First it must translate the information needed into

a set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer Developing questions that

respondents can and will answer and that will yield the desired information is difficult Two

apparently similar ways of posing a question may yield different information

Second a questionnaire must uplift motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in

the interview to cooperate and to complete the interview Incomplete interview has limited

usefulness at best In designing the questionnaire we tried to minimize the respondent fatigue

boredom incompleteness and no response

Third a questionnaire should minimize response errors Response error arises when respondents

give inaccurate answers or their answers are misreported or misanalysis And a questionnaire can

be a major source of response error

Procedure for Data Collection

Data collection means gathering information to address those critical evaluation questions that may

be in the minds of the company researcher And the procedure for data collection to be adopted

depends on the requirements of the company As specified by SMERA Rating Agency of India

Ltd we were required to make a thorough research of the existing market as well as the potential it

posses for the credit rating that SMERA offers

For the purpose of data collection firstly we identified our target population which were spread

over huge area organized and unorganized market This was done with the help of internet

51

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 52: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

database provided by the company as well as cold callings

We identified some of the important issues in this regard These were

1 Availability We realized that there may be some information already available that can help

answer some questions or guide the development of new guidelines Hence we reviewed

information in prior records reports and summaries

2 Pilot Testing It was essential to test the information collection instrument or the process we

designed

3 Protocol Needs In many situations we needed to obtain appropriate permission or clearance to

collect information from people or other sources

4 Reactivity Reactivity refers to how the way of asking a question would alter the response we

would get It may also be a concern if our presence during data collection may possibly alter the

results

5 Reliability Will the evaluation process designed consistently measure what we want it to

measure That is whether multiple interviews settings or observers will consistently measure the

same thing each time In whatever instrument we design will people interpret our questions the

same way each time

6 Validity Validity means will the information collection methods designed produce information

that measures what we require to measure We should be sure that the information we collect is

relevant to the purpose in hand

Having kept these issues in mind we adopted the following methods for data

collection

1 Personal Interview

An interview is called personal when the Interviewer asks the questions face-to-face with the

Interviewee Personal interviews were conducted in malls organized as well as unorganized

markets Petrol Pumps bus stands etc These were mainly of the form of structured interviews

2 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured technique for data collection that consists of a series of questions

that a respondent answers The questionnaire (which forms a part of the annexure) comprised of

multiple choice numeric open-ended as well as text-open ended questions depending on the nature

of the query

52

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 53: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Chapter-5

FINDINGS

amp

RESULTS

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 54: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Findings

We learned to convince top business executives to give us sometime from their busy schedule

so that we could apprise them in detail about our product by seeking their appointment in a

way that aroused their interest and curiosity in our product

We learned to find out the right person to contact for our purpose even without having any

reference or previous knowledge of the company

We learned to customize our way of presentation depending upon the target audience whether

it was Prop partnership company HUF

We learned to tempt these people to but our product

We learned to build a close relationship with people even if they are not willing to rate their

organization

We learned to extract sensitive information from our respondents

We got an insight about the work culture of corporate

54

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 55: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Market analysis for channel distribution

Q1 what is the Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

During my survey in District Ferozepur I had covered different towns and more emphasize was given over the SSI units of the Abohar and Fazilka As it covered different types of industries at the same time which almost reflect the industrial environment of the District Ferozepur

55

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 56: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q2 what is the Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin amp Pressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

I had visited different type of industries but as there is a more expansion of agriculture based industries so I had visited Rice shellers and cotton ginning factories a lot

56

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 57: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Most of the people had not knowledge about credit rating The reason behind it that I have got entrepreneurs are not more educated and it is a backward as well as border area which left the influence over the industry

57

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 58: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

A

few entrepreneurs have little knowledge about the Crisil Care and Icra rating agencies because they are the oldest one and work in the many fields also

58

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 59: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

I have got none of the SSI unit rated among sample with any rating agency because of unawareness on the part of the entrepreneurs and the orthodox view they possessing

59

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 60: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

Due to MOU between SMERA and Banks I had visited only PSUBanks Most the credit limits are with SBI PNB and OBC banks

Q7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

60

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 61: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

As there are most of the agriculture units so their credit limits are also big Which include Rice Shellerrsquos and Cotton Mills They have to retain a huge stock of material to cater the needs of the market

61

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 62: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore (d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Sale of the SSI units mostly remains to the same if weather remains calm because agriculture produce is completely influenced by it The major purchaser of agriculture outputs in this field is government and some others mills of Ludhiana

62

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 63: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports (b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Little of the agriculture produce is exported like Rice Kinnow and Cotton Now By export of the Basmati Rice is banned by the government of India

63

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 64: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

there are some industries which are considering expansion in future In kinnow grading industry there is a huge demand from there states

64

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 65: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund based If yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion(c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance(e) Machinery Purchase

Most of the funds are raised for the Expansion working capital and machinery purchase Because agriculture posses based industry possesrsquo huge investment in this field being a seasonal Work

65

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 66: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Mostly rate of interest paid by the industry hugely depend on the invest made by the industry if the invest the fund in agriculture based industry paying rate of interest other wise there is no exemption for the investment in other industry

66

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 67: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) Having not

As I had noticed during my survey most of the industries do not bearing any certificate only few of them have ISO certification as they are exported units

67

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 68: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q14Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Services of professional expert only used by the few of the 15 percent people in different mode to retain in the competition and cater there needs

68

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 69: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Q15 How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

By the overall the opinion of the industry people the future of the industry in Punjab is moderate

They stated that if govt of India amp Punjab avail the facilities like exemption in taxes electricity

subsidiesamp export orientation program then the future would be excellent

69

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 70: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

CHAPTER-6

LIMITATION

amp

CONCLUSION

70

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 71: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Limitations

Sample is not representative of organized unorganized sector across the nation

The authenticity of data collected is solely dependent on the information provided by the

respondent Their views may be biased or information may contain factual errors

Most of the people whom we interviewed were not the sole decision-maker for rating

It wasnrsquot possible for us to give trial sample in all the places visited Since the product is

technical in nature the perception of potential buyers may change after a trial

The time period wasnrsquot sufficient for an extensive analysis of various factors and applications

of the product range

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the companies expect the going to get tougher as the Indian market matures All avenues of

marketing are being explored - from price wars to value engineering to discounts But almost all the

companies that were covered by the study were increasingly looking beyond these parameters to

shore up bottom lines not just for immediate future but rather in a manner that would give them

competitive advantage

We have summarized our study of 8 weeks in the form of a SWOT Analysis

In the process of our market research regarding SMERA rating we realized that there are certain

aspects on which SMERA rating can capitalize we may call them the STRENGHT of the

company First the brand awareness as well as brand equity of CRISIL in the target market which

has been build over many years now is very high Even in the market of credit rating SMERA is at

neck to neck competition with DampB

Secondly the network of SMERA spreads across the many cities of country which accounts for

the long-standing relationship with customers

Thirdly SMERA has rated sixteen hundred SME units It has reached to many new areas as it has

opened more than twelve SME CONNECT

And fourthly SMERA offers a value for money products to its customers

71

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 72: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Coming on to the WEAKNESS part we realized that the main business deficiencies prevailing in

SMERA Credit Rating Agency are firstly the lack of proper and sufficient advertisements as a

result of which the target market is not fully aware of credit rating of SME Units in the country and

hence the company tends to loose its share at many instances For example the awareness level for

credit rating is very low

Secondly the after sales service which was one the most important attribute as pointed out by the

clients is not really up to the mark At some of the sites visited by us the clients complained of

defects in their existing SMERA setup about which they had been reporting to the company but

received no assistance Hence SMERA should take care of such lags since it would affect the

brand image of SMERA

SMERA has immense OPPORTUNITIES which still remains unexplored As per the ministry

credit rating has been made compulsory from next quarter of the year (under Basil 2 norms having

credit limit more than 5 cr)

Secondly since the after sales service is the most important attribute as pointed out by the

customers SMERA should either open up more SME CONNECT Centres or increase its

manpower in order to be prompt in this regard

Thirdly but very importantly as 75 of the credit rating fees of the SMERA for SSI units is

compensated by Govt of India

Fourthly having signed MOU with 22 nationalized banks which are proved to be good prospects

We also identified some THREATS that SMERA faces and hence must be aware of The first one

being the expanding networks of its major competitors DampB and CRISIL

Despite the increasing tendency among the customers for choosing better quality product services

parameters are still of prime importance Though it has always been difficult to predict the future

due to an element of uncertainty it can be safely said that companies who can be termed as

tomorrows market leaders would not be those who continue to concentrate only on their

unparalleled quality but on the aspects of both quality and service

72

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 73: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

ANNEXURE

73

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 74: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Ques 1 Area of work

(a) Abohar(b) Fazilka(c) Jalalabad(d) Guruharshai(e) Zira(f) Ferozpur

Ques 2 Area of business

(a) Food processing(b) Chemical amp allied products(c) Cotton gin ampPressing(d) Rice Sheller(e) And others

Ques 3 Do you know about credit rating

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques4 If yes than to which you have heard about

(a) Crisil(b) Icra(c) Care(d) Fitch(e) Onicra(f) Smera

Ques 5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques 6 To with which bank your credit limit is

(a) SBI(b) OBC(c) PNB(d) SBOP(e) CBI(f) And others

74

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 75: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

Ques7 How much would be your credit limit with the banks (In rupees)

(a) Less than 10 lakh(b) 10 to 30 lakh(c) 30 to 50 lakh(d) 50 to 75 lakh(e) 75 to 1 crore and above

Ques8 How much would be approximate annual sales turnover (In rupees)

(a) Less 40 lakh(b) 40 lakh to 70 lakh (c) 70 lakh to1 crore(d) 1 crore to 2 crore(e) 2 crore and above

Ques9 How much of your products are actually exported (In percentage)

(a) No exports(b) Up to 5(c) Between 5 - 10(d) 10 and over

Ques10 Do you intend to expand the overall capacity in the future If yes to what extent of present overall capacity do you plan to increase (In percentage)

(a) 0-5(b) 5-10(c) 10-30(d) Above 30

Ques11 Do you avail loans for managing business Facilities including non-fund basedIf yes purpose of funds

(a) Working Capital (b) Expansion (c) Diversification (d) Machinery Maintenance (e) Machinery Purchase

Ques12 How much interest do you pay against your loan from banks (In percentage)

(a) Below 9(b) 9-11

75

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 76: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

(c) 11-14(d) Above 14

Ques13 Has your company acquired any certification for adopting quality standards (Multiple Option possible)

(a) ISO 9000(b) ISO 14000(c) Any other (Specify)(d) No Having

Ques14 Do you use services of professional expert

(a) Yes(b) No

Ques15How is prospect of the industry in near future for the small amp medium units

(a) Excellent(b) Moderate(c) Bad(d) Good(e) Not good

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 77: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

BIBLIOGRAPHY

wwwwekipediacom

wwwsmerain

wwwnsiccom

Books

Research Methodology by CRKothari

77

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 78: marketing and analysis of credit rating products of sme rating agency

78

  • Vikas Baghla
    • Contents
      • THE BACKGROUND
      • CHAPTER-2
        • Sovereign credit ratings
        • Short term rating
        • CREDIT RISK
        • Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtorrsquos non payment of a loan or other line of credit( either the principal or interest (coupan) or both)
        • Faced by lenders to consumers
        • Faced by lenders to business
        • Faced by business
        • Faced by individuals
          • Credit history
            • How credit rating is determined
            • Understanding credit reports and scores
            • Credit History of Immigrants
            • Adverse Credit
            • Consequences
            • More than One Credit History Per Person
              • CHAPTER- 3 INTRODUCTION
              • OF
              • SMERA
                  • SME- DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
                  • Milestones
                  • Qualitative research
                  • Quantitative research
                  • SAMPLING
                    • Sampling Design
                      • Macro level
                          • SCOPE OF STUDY
                            • Geographical scope
                            • Product scope
                              • Procedure for Data Collection
                                • Market analysis for channel distribution
                                  • Q2 what is the Area of business
                                  • Q 3 Do you know about credit rating
                                  • Q4 If yes than about which you have heard about
                                  • Q5 Have you got your company rated by any rating agency
                                  • Q6 To with bank which your credit limit is
                                  • Q14Do you use services of professional expert
                                  • Limitations
                                    • BIBLIOGRAPHY