Nordic Credit Rating is owned by above 30 banks and institutions (including DNB, Storebrand, Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Pareto and others) and is registered with ESMA as a credit rating agency. NCR has offices in Oslo and Stockholm and around 15 employees. The company's purpose is to lower the threshold for Nordic issuers of bonds to obtain a public credit rating. A credit rating increases the transparency in the market and enables issuers to reach more investors with its bond issues. NCR aims to become the leading credit rating agency for Nordic issuers.