The Bank of Russia has launched a unified database of ratings for domestic companies - a rating repository that encompasses ratings of legal entities and bonds from four credit rating agencies (CRAs).Included in the list are the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA), Expert RA, the National Rating Agency (NRA), and the National Credit Ratings (NCR).Now all information is available in an aggregated form, said Nikolai Ivanov, Deputy General Director of the Expert RA agency, to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. As a result, it simplifies decision-making for people regarding investments.In conditions where Russian companies are forced to close their financial information from the public due to sanctions, credit ratings are one of the few tools that investors can rely on when assessing their risks, emphasized N. Ivanov.A credit rating is an assessment of a company's ability to meet its obligations. It is necessary for deciding where to invest money. The higher the rating, the more reliable the borrower is, and vice versa, explained E. Kogan, a professor at HSE and the founder of the Bitkogan project, to RG.Credit ratings of companies and securities help determine what to buy in which portfolios."For private investors without analytical experience, it is difficult to conduct a credit analysis independently. Here we have received detailed and professional information in one place. The repository will be useful for both investors and analysts," concluded E. Kogan.According to the latest data, in June the number of Russians who opened brokerage accounts on the Moscow Exchange reached 32.4 million people. In the first half of the year, this number increased by more than 2 million people.