What Cerved Rating Agency does

Cerved Rating Agency S.p.A. is an Italian credit rating agency founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Donato Milanese, operating under EU Regulation 1060/2009 as a registered Credit Rating Agency with External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) recognition for banks and insurance companies. The agency issues credit ratings on non-financial enterprises across Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, employing a proprietary 13-class long-term rating scale (A1.1 to C2.1) and a 5-class short-term scale (S-1 to R-1) that measure the probability of default within a 12-month horizon. The methodology combines quantitative statistical scoring with qualitative prospective analytical assessments, with default probabilities calibrated against aggregated banking-system default concepts. An Independent Review Function empirically validates rating model performance.

The company is directed and coordinated by Cerved Group S.p.A., itself part of ION Group, which provides access to an extensive database of over 14,000 capital companies with combined credit and sustainability evaluations. Revenue is generated through subscription-based public ratings distributed pursuant to EU Regulation 1060/2009, private ratings under specific contractual terms, one-time preliminary ratings convertible within 60 days into multi-year monitored ratings, and auxiliary services including Company Assessment, Rating Assessment, Project Rating, and Quick Assessment. The agency supports access to sustainable finance instruments such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, and publishes annual Credit Outlook research, ESG Connect forums, and ongoing market commentary. As of July 1, 2026, ESG rating activities were transferred to a newly established Cerved ESG Ratings entity, allowing the parent CRA to focus on core credit ratings while the new entity specializes in sustainability evaluations.

Name

Cerved Rating Agency

Legal name

Cerved Rating Agency S.p.A.

Website

https://ratingagency.cerved.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cerved Rating Agency S.p.A. is an Italian ECAI-registered credit rating agency, founded in 2014, that issues 13-class credit ratings on non-financial enterprises across Italy, Germany, France, and Spain. It is a subsidiary of Cerved Group S.p.A. (ION Group) and operates under EU Regulation 1060/2009.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Structured Finance Ratings & Surveillance (FSACACAI)

Keywords

• Credit rating services
• ESG ratings
• Risk assessment
• Financial analysis
• Regulatory compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

San Donato Milanese

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Revenue model

1. Public Credit Ratings: Ratings distributed via subscription pursuant to EU Regulation 1060/2009 and subsequent amendments, available to the public through the agency's website and subscription services.
2. Private Credit Ratings: Confidential ratings pursuant to EU Regulation 1060/2009 Art 2(1)(a), using public rating methodology but not usable for regulatory purposes and not disclosed to the public. Governed by specific contractual clauses.
3. Preliminary Ratings: Non-monitored private ratings issued exclusively to the rated entity on a confidential basis, convertible within 60 days into a multi-year monitored rating in public or private form.
4. Auxiliary Services: Additional services including Company Assessment, Rating Assessment, Project Rating, and Quick Assessment pursuant to EU Regulation 1060/2009 Annex I, Section E, Part I.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cerved Rating Agency is a European credit rating agency registered as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) under EU Regulation 1060/2009. It issues solicited and unsolicited credit ratings for non-financial enterprises, primarily serving Italian, German, French, and Spanish markets. The agency also provides ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) ratings, which were spun off into a separate entity (Cerved ESG Ratings) as of July 2026.

Product overview

Cerved Rating Agency operates as Italy's leading credit rating agency, offering a comprehensive suite of credit and ESG rating products. The core offering consists of Credit Ratings (public and private forms) covering non-financial enterprises in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, expressed on a 13-class long-term scale and corresponding short-term scale. The portfolio includes auxiliary services such as Company Assessment, Rating Assessment, Project Rating, and Quick Assessment. As of July 2026, ESG Rating activities were transferred to the newly established Cerved ESG Ratings entity. Supporting the core products, the agency publishes extensive research including Credit Outlook (annual analysis of Italian enterprise credit risk), ESG Connect (annual ESG forum), and regular Market Commentary publications. The rating methodology employs statistical scoring combined with qualitative analytical evaluations to measure probability of default within a 12-month horizon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 40.8% Investment Grade rate among rated Italian companies (Dec 2023)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cerved Group S.p.A.coreOthersParent company that directs and coordinates Cerved Rating Agency S.p.A. Provides data assets and methodological infrastructure supporting the rating agency's operations.
• DNV (Det Norske Veritas)minorOthersQuality certification partner providing ISO 9001:2015 certification for Cerved Rating Agency's quality management system.
• European Banking AuthoritycoreOthersRegulatory framework mapping provided for bank capital calculations under Regulation 2016/1799, enabling ECAI recognition for regulatory purposes.
• European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)coreOthersRegulatory framework mapping provided for insurance capital calculations under Regulation 2016/1800, enabling regulatory recognition for insurance sector.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DBRS Morningstar: DBRS Morningstar is a globally recognized credit rating agency with ECAI status in the EU and a focus on corporates, sovereigns, financial institutions, and structured finance. Comparable to Cerved Rating Agency as an ECAI alternative to the Big Three, with broader geographic coverage and asset-class breadth.
• Moody's Ratings: Moody's is one of the Big Three global credit rating agencies with ECAI status and dominant share of European bank and insurer capital-calculation ratings. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Cerved Rating Agency in offering ECAI-eligible ratings, but with vastly larger scale and global reach.
• Fitch Ratings: Fitch Ratings is one of the Big Three global credit rating agencies providing ECAI-recognized ratings for banks, insurers, corporates, and structured finance. It overlaps with Cerved Rating Agency in the European ECAI market but serves a much broader and more global client base.
• S&P Global Ratings: S&P Global Ratings is one of the Big Three global credit rating agencies, providing ECAI-recognized ratings across corporates, sovereigns, and structured finance worldwide. It competes with Cerved Rating Agency for European ECAI mandates but operates across a vastly broader portfolio of asset classes and geographies.

Emerging players

• Modefinance: Modefinance is an Italian-based rating and credit analytics firm offering ESG and credit risk assessments with ECAI registration. It is a smaller, more emerging peer to Cerved Rating Agency, overlapping in the Italian SME ESG-credit integration space.
• Creditsafe: Creditsafe is a European business credit reporting and scoring provider operating across multiple European markets. Comparable to Cerved Rating Agency in supplying credit information for business decisions, but focused on credit reports/scores rather than ECAI-recognized forward-looking ratings.

Direct peers

• ARC Ratings: ARC Ratings is a European-registered credit rating agency providing ECAI-recognized ratings on corporates, financial institutions, and sovereigns in the EU, with a stated mission to offer an alternative to the Big Three. Its ECAI status and European mid-cap focus make it a direct competitor to Cerved Rating Agency.
• Euler Hermes Rating (Allianz Trade): Euler Hermes Rating, part of Allianz Trade, is a European-registered credit rating agency focused on corporate and SME ratings with ECAI recognition. It serves a similar target segment of European non-financial corporates and competes directly with Cerved Rating Agency in Italy and other European markets.
• CRIF Ratings: CRIF Ratings is an Italian-affiliated ECAI-registered credit rating agency providing ratings on SMEs, corporates, and structured finance. It is a particularly relevant domestic peer to Cerved Rating Agency, with overlapping Italian client base and regulatory standing under EU Regulation 1060/2009.
• Scope Group: Scope Group is a Europe-based credit rating agency with ECAI status under EU Regulation 1060/2009, focusing on corporate, sovereign, and structured finance ratings across European markets. It is the most directly comparable mid-market ECAI peer to Cerved Rating Agency in terms of regulatory standing and target segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cerved-rating-agency

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cerved Rating Agency