SEBI ENHANCES FINE ON ICRA, CARE RATINGS

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has enhanced penalty imposed on credit rating agencies ICRA and Care Ratings in the IL&FS matter from `25 lakh to `1 crore each, in the wake of serious nature of the threat their ratings posed to the securities market.

“The lapses while rating the securities of IL&FS and IFIN have resulted in real and severe financial loss to investors. It has shaken up the investors’ faith in the reliability of credit ratings in the context of the corporate debt market,” Sebi in the order.

“Had the Noticee (Credit Rating Agencies) downgraded the ratings at the appropriate time and thereby forewarned the investors, the impact of the default on investors who invested in AAA rated instruments, could not have been this severe,” the market regulator said in its order.