Credit rating agencies are financial service agencies which assess the ability of an individual to pay back a loan. The agencies provides an independent financial analysis of credit. The three largest credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investor Service, and Fitch Ratings. They play a very important role in the efficient functioning of the national and international fixed income markets. Credit rating agencies are of many different types, they are classified according to industry or the region. Some agencies even offer business services like risk management and consulting services.

Many market participants including issuers, lenders, fixed-income investors, investment banks, broker-dealers, and government regulators use credit ratings given by the CRAs. CRAs are beneficial to all of them in some or the other ways. For investors, they enhance the range of investment options providing independent, easy-to-use measurements of relative credit risk. Issuers use these agencies for independent verification of their own credit-worthiness. Broker-dealers and investment banks also use credit rating agencies for calculating their own risk portfolios.

These agencies employ more professionals and does increased interaction with independent auditors and try to maintain the reliability of their reports. They update their ratings at least yearly. They provides detailed information on Credit Rating, Repair Credit Ratings, Free Credit Ratings, UK Credit Ratings and more.