Credit rating refers to opinion or score representing the borrower’s credit risk, assigned internally by the bank or externally by a recognised rating agency. It influences approval level, pricing, collateral, and monitoring intensity. Mention rating source, date, scale, and outlook. In MSME underwriting, it provides context for the borrower, facility, banking conduct or approval conditions and helps the credit officer connect operational data with credit judgement. For example, the item may influence eligibility, documentation, sanction conditions or the credit officer’s comfort even if it is not a ratio by itself. It matters because the term can affect how the proposal is documented, interpreted, approved and monitored after sanction. The common mistake is to read it in isolation; it should be checked against borrower documents, bank statements, financials and policy requirements.