The LSE Directory / Credit rating agencies
Morningstar DBRS is a credit rating agency that issues independent credit ratings and research on corporate borrowers, sovereigns, financial institutions, insurers and structured finance transactions, including residential and commercial mortgage backed securities, covered bonds and asset backed securities. It operates as a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, it also has offices in New York, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Madrid and, since 2025, Sydney. As of its 2026 fiftieth anniversary announcement, it rated more than 4,500 issuers and roughly 68,000 securities globally. The firm traces its identity to Dominion Bond Rating Service, which gave it an early and lasting concentration in Canadian corporate and structured credit; it remains the largest rating agency operating in Canada. Its 2003 expansion into the United States and 2005 expansion into Europe built specific strength in US residential and commercial mortgage backed securities and in European covered bonds and structured finance, areas where it competes with the larger "big three" agencies (S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch) but from a smaller global base, holding roughly 2 to 3 percent of the worldwide ratings market as the fourth largest agency overall. It is one of only four credit rating agencies recognized as an External Credit Assessment Institution by the European Central Bank. Morningstar DBRS was founded in Toronto in April 1976 by Walter Schroeder as Dominion Bond Rating Service, reportedly starting with less than $1,000 in capital; the business was renamed DBRS in 2008. Private equity firms Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus previously held ownership stakes before Morningstar, Inc. announced its acquisition of DBRS on May 29, 2019, in a cash and stock deal reported at approximately $700 million, completing July 2, 2019 and combining with Morningstar's existing credit ratings unit to form Morningstar DBRS. Its group entities carry separate regulatory registrations: DBRS, Inc. is a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization under the US SEC, DBRS Ratings Limited is regulated by the UK's FCA, DBRS Ratings GmbH in Frankfurt has been registered with ESMA as an EU credit rating agency since December 14, 2018, and DBRS Limited in Canada reports to the Ontario Securities Commission as principal regulator. In 2025 the company opened a regional hub in Sydney to grow its Asia Pacific presence, after more than two decades of rating global offerings from APAC issuers. In January 2026, Morningstar DBRS credit ratings were integrated into BNY's Global Collateral platform, widening the set of Morningstar DBRS rated securities eligible for triparty collateral allocation. The firm marked 50 years of operation in 2026 under President Detlef Scholz.
