Average monthly rating downgrades rise 22% amid Covid-19 pandemic: ICRA

Amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the pace of credit rating downgrades has accelerated with average monthly downgrades increasing by 22 per cent in the past few months, ICRA said in a report.

The rating agency said that from its rated portfolio, while the number of downgrades has increased, upgrades have nearly dried up.
 

Of the 315 negative rating actions taken by ICRA on non-financial sector entities in the period between March 1 and May 15, a majority of them were attributable to the pandemic outbreak.

"Nearly half of these negative rating actions have been downgraded (150), while a significant proportion