CRISIL, an impressive outfit, is furthest down this path with half its sales from abroad, mainly from helping banks with equity research and risk-management models, demand for which has soared thanks to more regulation in the rich world.

ECONOMIST: Credit-rating agencies

For all those reasons, the market for municipal funds is roughly 0.2 percent of the corporate bond market, and less developed than those in emerging economies like South Africa and the Philippines, claimed Nagarajan Narasimhan, senior director of CRISIL Ratings.

FORBES: Building a Money Market for Indian Cities