Bank of Maharashtra signs MoU with D

Mumbai, Feb 21 (UNI) Bank of Maharsahtra (BoM) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the global business rating agency and provider of global business information, knowledge and insight Dun&Bradstreet, under which it will offer BoM customers the 'NSIC-D&B Performance and Credit Rating' at a subsidised fee.

The rating, offered under the Performance and Credit Rating Scheme for Small Scale Industries (SSI), adopted by the Ministry of Small Scale Industries (SSI) of the Central government, is meant especially for the SSI sector.

The MoU will provide BoM members with the globally accepted D&B rating at a special rate, thus helping them establish their credibility on a global platform. They will also receive D&B's globally recognised Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number along with the rating, a release said here today.

Following the signing of the agreement, Dun&Bradstreet, India Regional Manager (West&South) Jayesh Bahadur said ''The signing of this MoU reiterates Dun&Bradstreet's commitment to facilitating business for small scale units. The MoU will not only provide Bank of Maharashtra's SSI customers with the globally accepted D&B rating at a special rate, but will also help the SSI units to build credibility with the bank, customers, suppliers and collaborators.'' SSI units getting good ratings will enjoy interest rate benefits ranging from 0.2 per cent to 0.5 per cent, which will benefit all the existing and the potential SSI customers of the bank, he said.

Bank of Maharashtra General Manager (Priority Sector Credit, Retail Credit and Corporate Services) Vinod E Dalvi said the MoU would benefit bank's existing and potential customers to get an international rating which, in turn, will help them establish credibility on a global platform.

''I am confident that many SSI units will take advantage of the introduction of rate of interest benefit. Bank of Maharashtra has taken a number of initiatives to improve SSI's in a big way.

Our association with D&B will help us get a third party opinion from a highly credible source,'' he said.

The DUNS Number is a unique nine-digit identification number that facilitates global recognition for businesses. It is used extensively for vendor pre-qualification by Fortune 500 Companies and is also widely used to link corporate family structures together.

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