Moody's may cut Mauritius banks

Moody's Investors Service said it placed on review for possible downgrade the Baa2/Prime-2 long-term and short-term foreign-currency deposit ratings and Baa1 foreign-currency issuer ratings of Mauritius Commercial Bank and State Bank of Mauritius.

The review also affects the Aa3.za South African national scale rating of Mauritius Commercial Bank's senior and subordinated obligations under its medium-term note program. Those obligations also are placed on review for possible downgrade.

The bank financial strength ratings - D+ for Mauritius Commercial Bank and C- for State Bank of Mauritius - are not affected by the review and are affirmed with stable outlook.

These actions follow a similar action on Mauritius's Baa2 foreign-currency deposit ceiling and Baa1 foreign-currency debt ceiling, which was prompted by the government's increasing cost of servicing its domestic debt, thus hampering the fiscal consolidation process despite improved growth prospects and rising fiscal revenues, Moody's said.

Moody's said the ratings are constrained by the respective sovereign ceilings.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.