DBRS announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with the Chilean rating agency, International Credit Rating.

Under the terms of the agreement, DBRS will strengthen its presence in Latin America while providing Chilean companies with access to international markets. DBRS and ICR remain independent organizations, each solely responsible for its own analyses and ratings.

Last year, DBRS issued a sovereign rating on the Republic of Chile, and it has rated a number of Chilean issuers for several years. This alliance will support additional business development activities in Chile and other Latin American countries, DBRS says.

“The strategic alliance with ICR is another significant milestone in our global expansion,” says Walter Schroeder, president of DBRS. “This alliance is one more key step in building DBRS’s positioning and momentum as an acknowledged force in the global capital markets. Equally, it is a highly effective way of offering to investors new insights and perspectives on the Latin American credit markets.”

“We are very pleased to be working with DBRS, a global rating agency known for its professionalism and worldwide development,” says Álvaro Clarke, president of ICR. “This alliance confirms ICR’s commitment to Chile’s capital market. And we are confident that this alliance with DBRS will benefit not only Chile, but all of Latin America.”