HomeCirculars › RBI/2020-21/86

CRISIL Ratings Limited Now Eligible for Capital Adequacy Risk Weighting

No longer current — withdrawn, no replacement on file yet
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2020-21/86 · issued 27 Jan 2021 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI has approved CRISIL Ratings Limited as an eligible credit rating agency for capital adequacy purposes, replacing CRISIL Limited. Banks can use its ratings for risk weighting claims, with the same rating-risk weight mapping as before.

What changed

RBI has updated its list of eligible credit rating agencies for capital adequacy under the New Capital Adequacy Framework and Basel III regulations. CRISIL Ratings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CRISIL Limited, now replaces CRISIL Limited as an accredited agency. The rating symbols and their risk weight mapping remain unchanged.

What it means for you

Banks can continue to use ratings from CRISIL Ratings Limited for calculating risk-weighted assets without any operational disruption. This ensures continuity in capital adequacy calculations as the rating business was transferred to comply with SEBI regulations. No changes to existing rating-risk weight mappings or other external credit rating provisions are needed.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

All Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Payment Banks, Local Area Banks, and Regional Rural Banks), Risk management departments, Credit rating users in banks

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

Why did RBI replace CRISIL Limited with CRISIL Ratings Limited?

CRISIL Limited transferred its rating business to CRISIL Ratings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, to comply with SEBI's notification dated September 11, 2018 and circular dated September 19, 2018. RBI has updated its list accordingly.

Will the risk weights for existing ratings change?

No, the rating-risk weight mapping for long-term and short-term ratings assigned by CRISIL Ratings Limited remains the same as was used for CRISIL Limited. There is no change in rating symbols or risk weights.

Do banks need to re-rate existing exposures?

No, banks can continue using existing ratings from CRISIL Limited as they are now assigned by CRISIL Ratings Limited. The circular does not require any re-rating or recalculation of risk weights for existing exposures.

📜 This document’s life story (1 recorded event, each backed by RBI’s own words)
Repealed by RBI/2025-26/100 — Consolidation of Regulations — Withdrawal of circulars (28 Nov 2025)
RBI’s words: “Official withdrawal register entry #330: DOR.No.CRE.BC.33/21.06.007/2020-21 — "Prudential Guidelines on Capital Adequacy and Market Discipline - New Capital Adequacy Framework (NCAF) - Eligible Credit”
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2020-21/86 DOR.No.CRE.BC.33/21.06.007/2020-21 January 27, 2021 All Scheduled Commercial Banks (Excluding Payment Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks) Dear Sir/Madam, Prudential Guidelines on Capital Adequacy and Market Discipline - New Capital Adequacy Framework (NCAF) - Eligible Credit Rating Agencies – CRISIL Ratings Limited Please refer to the Master Circular DBR.No.BP.BC.4./21.06.001/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015 on 'Prudential Guidelines on Capital Adequacy and Market Discipline - New Capital Adequacy Framework (NCAF)’ and Master Circular DBR.No.BP.BC.1/21.06.201/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015 on Basel III Capital Regulations. 2. In terms of paragraph 6 of the above circulars, CRISIL Limited has been accredited for the purpose of risk weighting the banks' claims for capital adequacy purposes along with other credit rating agencies (CRAs) registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The rating business of CRISIL Limited has since been transferred to CRISIL Ratings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CRISIL Limited in compliance with SEBI’s notification dated September 11, 2018 read with SEBI’s circular dated September 19, 2018. Banks may therefore, use the ratings of the CRISIL Ratings Limited for the purpose of risk weighting their claims for capital adequacy purposes. The rating-risk weight mapping for the long term and short-term ratings assigned by CRISIL Ratings Limited will be the same as was in the case of CRISIL Limited and there is no change in the rating symbols earlier assigned by CRISIL Limited. 3. All other provisions regarding external credit ratings stipulated in the aforementioned Master Circulars remain unchanged. Yours faithfully, (Manoranjan Mishra) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2020-21/86 · issued 27 Jan 2021. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12016&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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