The Sifco management is staggering the repayments corresponding to its cash inflows. The company proposes to pay off the entire outstanding deposit of Rs 6 crore by September 1998. A part of the repayments is expected to be financed out of its collections and the balance through funds from other sources. Sifco enjoys a moderately strong brandname, "Readymoney", having substantial acceptability in south India. However, the fortunes of the company have been declining steadily for the last one year. Duff & Phelps has downgraded the rating assigned to the FD programme of the company from Triple-C to Double-B. The revised rating suggests that the issuer has defaulted on its debt obligations and hasfailed to meet scheduled principal and interest repayments.

Meanwhile, the rating agency has assigned a double-A- rating to the Rs 10-crore non-convertible secured debenture programme of MGF (India) Ltd. The rating takes into consideration the asset profile and credit appraisal mechanism of the company. The debenture is secured by the future receivables from the assets financed.

Surarna Financial Corporation (SFCL) has been assigned an A- rating for its FD programme. The rating takes into consideration the company's relatively small business size, steady growth in profitability and its sound operational management. SFCL's dependence on public deposits has been limited and substantial funding of its core activities is through alternative sources of equity and bank funds.