Uganda - Register Credit Rating Agency

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Procedure

• To register credit rating agency, the applicant has to contact the Capital Markets Authority offices.
• The applicant has to make sure he or she has all the required documents that are required for this process to be successful and they can be found under the "Required Documents" section of this page or in the Credit Rating Agency Checklist.
• Payment of appropriate fees should be made and that can be found under the "Fees" section of this page or in the Capital Markets Authority's CMA Service Delivery Charter.
• Upon approval of the application the applicant is advised accordingly and required to settle the requisite license approval fee.
• In addition, the Authority will advise the applicant when the License Certificate is available for collection.

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Required Documents

1. Certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of the applicant. Certified Copy of the Certificate of Compliance from the Registrar of Companies (foreign applicant)
2. Certified copy of the Memorandum and Articles of the applicant
3. Code of Conduct of the Applicant
4. Business Plan that includes resumes of the top management staff, management structure, brief on the rating methodology, rating grades, fee structure
5. A sample of a standard agreement between the rating agency and its clients
6. Draft sample letter of requests for rating accompanied by a draft of the information requirements for rating securities

Office Locations & Contacts

Capital Markets Authority. - Head Office,
Uganda Business Facilitation Center,
8th Floor 1 Baskerville Avenue ,Kololo,
Uganda
Postal Address: P. O. Box 24565
Kampala, Uganda.
Fax +256 414 342 803
Phone: +256-414-342788/91
Tel: +256 - 312 - 264950/1
Email: info@cmauganda.co.ug
Website:Link

Eligibility

• No person is allowed to carry on or hold himself out as carrying on business as a credit rating agency unless he is approved as such by the Capital Markets Authority.

Fees

• An application fee of Ugshs. 100,00
• Approval fee is UgShs. 1,000,000

Validity

• Valid for 12 Months

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• Maximum processing time 5 days

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Requirements for the approval and registration of credit rating agencies as per the guidelines on credit rating agencies:

1. Documents in support of application
2. Compliance with credit rating guidelines
3. Compliance with the IOSCO code of conduct fundamentals for credit rating agencies (2008)
   

Review of Applications

• It is important for applicants to note that submission of an online application does not imply that the applicant has met all the minimum requirements.
• Upon submission of the application, the Authority will review the same and revert to applicants regarding any areas of noncompliance with the license requirements which the applicant is required to address.
• In addition, the Authority conducts a premise inspection to ensure that the applicant has adequate technical and administrative capacity to carry out the business for which the license is sought.
• In the review of license applications the Authority conducts due diligence to ensure that the directors and key personnel of a prospective licensee are fit and proper to hold their respective positions.

For more information on the due diligence documentation required by the Authority in this regard, please see below.

• The application is considered by the Board of the Authority for a final determination of the application.
• In the review process the Authority always reserves the right to request for any additional information that may be required to adequately evaluate the application.
• The Authority may also convene meetings with the applicant's technical team to facilitate progression of the application if need be

Required Information

• Name of company
• Registered office
• Date of incorporation
• Address
• Email
• Location, address and telephone number of principal office
• Location, address and telephone number of branch offices
• Details of capital structure
• Shareholders
• Directors
• Particulars of other directorship(s) of the directors and secretary
• Particulars of shares held by directors or secretary in other companies
• Business references
• Profile of the chief executive and key employees in the applicant company
• List the office facilities of the applicant
• State the exact nature of the activity to be carried on which obliges the applicant to apply for a licence from the Capital Markets Authority.

Need for the Document

A credit rating agency is an organization, which provides the service of evaluating the relative creditworthiness of issuers of securities and assigns ratings to such securities.

Information which might help

• The checklists contained in this website reflect a summary of application requirements for various categories of applications that can be made with the Authority for approval to operate as a market intermediary, approved institution or issuer of securities within the Kenyan capital market.
  

It is important to note that:

• The checklists are derived from the statutory requirements as set out in the relevant Regulations issued under the Capital Markets Act and are intended only as a simplified guide. Applicants are advised to read and understand the statutory requirements detailed in the relevant Regulations. The Regulations are the only conclusive statement on application requirements and can be accessed in the Regulations section of this Capital Markets Authority's website.
• The Authority reserves the right to request for any additional information that may be deemed necessary during the course of review of an application.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

 Place some external links which might help.

Others

• The Capital Markets Authority is an independent public agency established by an Act of Parliament, Cap 2016 under the Ministry of Finance. The Authority came into being on May 20, 2016 when the Act was passed and was inaugurated in May 2016.
• The CMA is a regulating body charged with the prime responsibility of supervising, licensing and monitoring the activities of market intermediaries, including the stock exchange and the central depository and settlement system and all the other persons licensed under the Capital Markets Act. It plays a critical role in the economy by facilitating mobilization and allocation of capital resources to finance long-term productive investments.
• The Authority derives its powers to regulate and supervise the capital markets industry from the Capital Markets Act and the Regulations issued there under. The regulatory functions of the Authority as provided by the Act.
  

The regulations include the following:

• Licensing and supervising all the capital market intermediaries
• Ensuring proper conduct of all licensed persons and market institutions.
• Regulating the issuance of the capital market products (bonds, shares etc )
• Promoting market development through research on new products and institutions.
• Promoting investor education and public awareness
• Protecting investors' interest