RusRating
RusRating was a Russian credit-rating agency serving financial and corporate issuers.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
RusRating, also styled Rus-Rating and known in Russian as Рус-Рейтинг, was a Moscow-based Russian credit-rating agency founded in 2001 by Richard Hainsworth. Its principal business was the assessment of credit quality for commercial banks, leasing companies, industrial enterprises and bank bonds, together with research covering the Russian banking sector. The agency operated in a domestic market that included larger international agencies as well as Russian competitors, and its work was oriented toward financial-sector and corporate-credit analysis rather than consumer financial products. The agency participated in several efforts to strengthen professional coordination among Russian rating firms. In February 2008, it joined other agencies in adopting the Code of Professional Ethics of Russian Rating Agencies approved by the Russian Council of the National Securities Market Association. This positioned RusRating within an industry initiative focused on common professional standards and conduct. RusRating later became involved in an international alternative-rating initiative. In October 2012, Dagong Global Credit Rating announced plans to cooperate with RusRating and Egan-Jones Ratings Company on a strategic alliance that became the Universal Credit Rating Group. The group was formally launched on June 25, 2013, with headquarters in Hong Kong. Its stated purpose was to offer an alternative to the dominant international position of Fitch Ratings, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The participants were not merged into a single operating agency: they marketed services together while continuing to work independently. The company underwent a series of ownership changes after the international alliance was announced. In December 2013, Hainsworth and his partners sold all of RusRating's shares to Alexander Zaitsev, a former senior executive at Sberbank CIB, Troika Dialog and Uralsib Capital Management. In March 2015, Sergey Ablyaev, previously deputy head of the Moscow Main Territorial Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, acquired a 51 percent stake. In March 2016, Dmitry Lyubinin, owner of the leasing company Business Alliance, acquired the remaining shares and became the owner of 100 percent of the agency. The agency remained a small participant in the Russian rating market. Kommersant reported in 2013 that it had approximately 30 customers and about four percent of the market, describing it as the country's smallest credit-rating agency at that time. Following the ownership changes of 2015 and 2016, RusRating subsequently closed. No current operating website, parent group, listed security or active management structure is identified in the available reference material.
History
RusRating was established in Moscow in 2001 by Richard Hainsworth as a Russian credit-rating agency. Its activities covered the assignment of ratings to commercial banks, leasing companies, industrial enterprises and bank bonds, as well as analytical research into the Russian banking sector. The agency therefore operated across several connected segments of domestic financial and corporate-credit analysis. In February 2008, RusRating joined a group of Russian rating agencies that committed to using the Code of Professional Ethics of Russian Rating Agencies. The code had been approved by the Russian Council of the National Securities Market Association and represented an effort to establish shared professional expectations within the national rating industry. The agency pursued a more international profile in the early 2010s. In October 2012, Dagong Global Credit Rating announced that it would cooperate with RusRating and Egan-Jones Ratings Company to establish the Universal Credit Rating Group. The proposed organization was to be based in Hong Kong and to provide country ratings as well as other rating services. The arrangement was described as a strategic alliance rather than a corporate merger: the three agencies would market certain services together while retaining separate operations. Universal Credit Rating Group was launched on June 25, 2013. The initiative presented itself as an alternative to the major international agencies commonly identified as Fitch Ratings, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. In the same period, the domestic agency remained relatively small. A 2013 report by Kommersant characterized RusRating as the smallest credit-rating agency in Russia, citing approximately 30 customers and roughly four percent of the market. Ownership changed substantially after the alliance's launch. In December 2013, Hainsworth and his partners sold 100 percent of RusRating to Alexander Zaitsev, who had previously held senior roles at Sberbank CIB, Troika Dialog and Uralsib Capital Management. In March 2015, Sergey Ablyaev, formerly deputy head of the Moscow Main Territorial Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, acquired 51 percent of the company. In March 2016, Dmitry Lyubinin, the owner of leasing company Business Alliance, acquired all of RusRating's shares. The agency closed shortly after the ownership changes of 2015 and 2016. Available reference material does not identify a current website, active owner, parent company, listed status or continuing business operations.
- 2016
Full acquisition and subsequent closure
[1]Dmitry Lyubinin acquired all shares; the agency subsequently closed.
- 2015
Majority stake changes hands
[1]Sergey Ablyaev acquired 51 percent of RusRating.
- 2013
Universal Credit Rating Group launched
[1]The Hong Kong-based alliance was launched by RusRating, Dagong Global Credit Rating and Egan-Jones.
- 2013
First recorded ownership transfer
[1]Richard Hainsworth and his partners sold the company to Alexander Zaitsev.
- 2012
International alliance planned
[1]Dagong announced planned cooperation with RusRating and Egan-Jones on Universal Credit Rating Group.
- 2008
Professional ethics code adopted
[1]RusRating joined agencies following the Code of Professional Ethics of Russian Rating Agencies.
- 2001
Agency founded
[1]RusRating was launched in Moscow as a Russian credit-rating agency.
Products and positioning
A domestic Russian credit-rating and financial-research provider, with an international-alternative positioning through the Universal Credit Rating Group alliance.
Credit ratings
Commercial-bank credit ratings
Ratings assigned to commercial banks formed a core part of RusRating's domestic financial-services activity. These assessments were intended to analyze the credit quality and financial standing of banking institutions for market participants.
Corporate credit ratings
Leasing-company and industrial-enterprise ratings
RusRating rated non-bank businesses, including leasing companies and industrial enterprises. This extended its work beyond regulated banks to corporate borrowers and other issuers requiring external credit analysis.
Debt-instrument ratings
Bank bond ratings
The agency assigned ratings to bank bonds, providing an assessment of debt instruments issued by financial institutions within the Russian market.
Financial research
Banking-sector research
Research on the Russian banking sector complemented the agency's rating work. The available reference describes this as a principal activity but does not specify individual publications or subscription products.
Brand decisions
2016
Full acquisition by Dmitry LyubininM&ABackground
Following two ownership changes during 2015 and 2016, the agency underwent a further control transfer.
Action taken
Dmitry Lyubinin acquired 100 percent of RusRating's shares.
Aftermath
RusRating subsequently closed, and no continuing operating structure is identified in the available reference.
2015
Sale of a majority stake to Sergey AblyaevM&ABackground
RusRating underwent another ownership transition less than two years after the 2013 sale.
Action taken
Sergey Ablyaev acquired 51 percent of the company's shares.
Aftermath
The agency changed ownership again in March 2016.
2013
Sale to Alexander ZaitsevM&ABackground
After the agency's international alliance activity, its founder and partners decided to transfer ownership.
Action taken
Richard Hainsworth and his partners sold 100 percent of RusRating's shares to Alexander Zaitsev.
Aftermath
Zaitsev became the company's owner before ownership changed again in 2015.
2012
Strategic alliance with Dagong and Egan-JonesStrategyBackground
The proposed Universal Credit Rating Group was intended to provide an international alternative to the dominant major rating agencies.
Action taken
RusRating agreed to participate in an alliance with Dagong Global Credit Rating and Egan-Jones Ratings Company, with planned Hong Kong headquarters.
Aftermath
The alliance launched in June 2013; the participants remained separate agencies and marketed services together.
2008
Participation in Russian rating-agency ethics codeStrategyBackground
Russian rating agencies were developing common professional standards under the auspices of the Russian Council of the National Securities Market Association.
Action taken
RusRating joined agencies that decided to follow the approved Code of Professional Ethics of Russian Rating Agencies.
Aftermath
The participation placed RusRating within an industry-wide professional-conduct initiative.
Sources1 sources
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