PEOPLE'S Bank of China (PBOC) chief Zhou Xiaochuan on Sunday called on the country's major financial institutions to enhance their own judgment in making choices and reduce dependence on credit ratings provided by overseas agencies.

"Large financial institutions are different from small ones or retail investors, they should strive to make choices on the basis of their own judgment," Zhou said at an economic forum held Sunday in Beijing.

Zhou also said that China should support the development of home-grown rating agencies.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., Ltd., the first domestic rating agency in China, unveiled the country's first sovereign credit rating report in July 2010 that evaluated 50 countries. It also became the first non-Western rating agency to assess the world's sovereign credit and risks.

There are currently 152 rating agencies worldwide and the market experienced a 20 percent annual growth since 2000.

Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch together account for 95 percent of the market, worth $4.45 billion.

Over the past three years doubts have emerged about the credibility of the "big three" amid growing demands for an overhaul of the global rating system.