For half a century, Morningstar DBRS has delivered independent opinions, transparent criteria, and global perspective to credit markets. From our Canadian roots to global reach, Morningstar DBRS has scaled deliberately and with purpose. Today, we rate more than 4,500 issuers and 68,000 securities worldwide.
A Global Journey With a Local Point of View
Founded in Toronto in 1976, we expanded to the United States and Europe in the 2000s before joining Morningstar in 2019 to form one of the world’s top four credit rating agencies. We established our Asia-Pacific hub in Sydney in 2025 to better serve issuers and investors in the region with on‑the‑ground expertise supported by our worldwide network.
We bring clarity and transparency to market participants and are increasingly embedded in global credit market infrastructure. Morningstar DBRS is registered as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) in the United States, Europe, UK, Canada, and Australia—our credit ratings are recognized by regulators across major jurisdictions, supporting their use by global institutions.
The integration of our credit ratings into BNY's Global Collateral platform in January 2026 broadened eligibility customization and expanded the rated universe available for collateral allocation, a meaningful step forward for liquidity management on the leading triparty platform. In April 2026, Morningstar DBRS credit ratings became eligible for use in regulatory capital assessments under Japan’s new insurance solvency framework, implemented in line with the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS). This inclusion expands Japan-based insurers’ access to independent credit opinions for capital treatment and risk management, further demonstrating the growing market acceptance of our ratings.
“Recent milestones reflect the market’s growing adoption of Morningstar DBRS’ opinions across geographies and market sectors. Given our more nimble and service-minded approach, we are also well positioned in the rapidly evolving private credit markets and on-balance sheet risk assessments for insurance companies globally.”
— Detlef Scholz, President of Morningstar DBRS
— Detlef Scholz, President of Morningstar DBRS
How We Move Markets: Clarity, Comparability, and Choice
Over the past several years, we have made strategic investments in methodology initiatives that enhance global comparability and consistency across asset classes.
In 2023 we began modernizing and streamlining our fundamental and structured finance methodologies to ensure global applicability and support newer asset classes in the market in a clear, transparent, and user friendly way.
- Fundamental methodologies. Reduced to 25 in 2026 from 55 in 2023, including the consolidation of 16 corporate methodologies that covered diversified industries into one.
- Structured finance methodologies. Reduced to 69 in 2026 from 99 in 2024, in addition to the revision of our collateralized loan obligation-related approach under one methodology in 2023.
We have also expanded our structured finance approach in several sectors to include coverage of the Asia-Pacific region, and have enhanced methodologies that cover areas of growing market interest across industries, including digital infrastructure, data centers, project finance, and energy efficiency and home improvement asset-backed securities (ABS).
Built for the Future
Our transparent methodologies and agile approach provide forward‑looking perspectives on the market that give investors clarity without introducing instability. As we look ahead, we are deeply committed to continuing to challenge the status quo by bringing differentiated credit insights, solutions, and innovative thought leadership to global credit markets as it helps issuers and investors navigate liquidity and risk with confidence across Americas, Europe, and Asia‑Pacific.
Our transparent methodologies and agile approach provide forward‑looking perspectives on the market that give investors clarity without introducing instability. As we look ahead, we are deeply committed to continuing to challenge the status quo by bringing differentiated credit insights, solutions, and innovative thought leadership to global credit markets as it helps issuers and investors navigate liquidity and risk with confidence across Americas, Europe, and Asia‑Pacific.
Contact Us
Richard Sibthorpe
Head of Canada & Global Investor Strategy
Credit Ratings Leadership
+(1) 437 774 9132
richard.sibthorpe@morningstar.com
Sean O'Connor
Managing Director, Global Head of Business Development
Credit Ratings Leadership
+(1) 212 806 3252
seanp.oconnor@morningstar.com
Visit our website for more contacts
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