Kroll Bond Rating Agency

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) is a credit rating agency. KBRA publishes research and analyses that are available to the public domain free of charge. KBRA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a Credit Rating Provider (CRP). Its head office is located on 845 Third Avenue in Midtown, New York City.

The firm was founded by Jules Kroll who purchased L.A.C.E. Financial, a Subscription Rating Service Company. KBRA is currently active in the CMBS, RMBS, ABS, Public Finance, Corporate Finance, Financial Guarantor, and Financial Institutions sectors.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns credit ratings to issuers and their obligations and, through its Subscription Rating Service (SRS), financial strength ratings to financial institutions, corporations and sovereigns. KBRA issues both long-term and short-term credit ratings.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns credit ratings to issuers and their obligations using the same rating scale. In either case, KBRA's credit ratings are intended to reflect both the probability of default and severity of loss in the event of default, with greater emphasis on probability of default at higher rating categories. For obligations, the determination of expected loss severity is, among other things, a function of the seniority of the claim. Generally speaking, issuer-level ratings assume a loss severity consistent with a senior unsecured claim. KBRA appends an (sf) indicator to ratings assigned to structured finance obligations.

KBRA may append - or + modifiers to ratings in categories AA through CCC to indicate, respectively, upper and lower risk levels within the broader category.