Sato Rating Strategy Institute

Sato Rating Strategy Institute is the leading provider of independent rating advisory service in Japan

We support rated and unrated corporates, financial institutions, and government supported issuers on matters regarding credit ratings, capital structure and strategic transaction analysis

Rating Advisory:
Credit ratings can impact the issuer’s funding flexibility as well as the terms of derivative transactions

  • Particularly sensitive for issuers engaged in industry sectors that are undergoing structural changes and/or seeking to undertake strategic initiatives

We help our clients better understand how the agencies determine their ratings and develop plans for setting and achieving the desired rating targets

  • Help issuers understand their financial flexibility and constraints to aid their strategic/financial planning process
  • Recommend ways to effectively convey key messages to the rating committee
  • Hold rating agencies accountable for maintaining integrity of their respective rating practices
  • Guide clients through rating sensitive transactions

Capital Structure:
The issuer’s ability to provide shareholders with appropriate returns is vital to the long-term viability of the firm and its ability to raise capital as necessary

We help clients strike an appropriate balance between financing required for growth and balance sheet soundness

  • We also recognize that the risk appetite and liquidity in the bank loan and capital markets can often have material influence in the issuer’s ability to raise financing, notwithstanding the assigned credit ratings

Strategic Transaction Analysis:
Management’s ability to make well-informed business decisions depend on access to a diversity of high-quality information

We help our clients better understand the potential rating impact of undertaking certain strategic/financial initiatives

  • We carefully scrutinize the assumptions embedded in financial models to assure that the analysis provided is thorough, realistic and fair
  • We provide our clients with a perspective not offered by investment banks and lenders

The Principal has over 21 years of full-time credit rating related business experience across a wide range of industry sectors and credit situations in Asia and North America

  • Sato Rating Strategy Institute is a member of the Rating Advisory Network which consists of a team of 6 leading industry experts with over a century of combined experience spanning corporates and financial institutions globally

Armed with in-depth knowledge of rating methodologies employed by the global rating agencies such as Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, and Japanese rating agencies such as R&I and JCR, we are well-prepared to assist firms in managing their credit rating agency relationships, providing analytical outputs utilizing credit rating methodologies, and enhancing their long-term potential for success