Fitch assigns Absa Group, Absa Bank BB-

Fitch Ratings said it assigned Absa Group Ltd. (ABG) and its main operating subsidiary Absa Bank Ltd. (ABL) long-term issuer default ratings of BB- with stable outlooks and viability ratings (VRs) of bb-.

Fitch said it also assigned ABL a government support rating of b+ and placed it on rating watch negative, reflecting the expectation that bank resolution legislation will be implemented in South Africa in the next 18 months, providing a framework for the bail-in of senior creditors.

“ABG's and ABL's ratings are driven by the entities' stand-alone creditworthiness, as expressed by their bb- VRs. The VRs reflect the group's solid regional franchise, diversified and resilient business profile, good profitability, comfortable capital buffers and stable funding and liquidity. The VRs are one notch below the bb implied VRs due to the operating environment and the sovereign rating constraint, underlining the concentration of activities in South Africa (end-3Q22: 82% of ABG's total assets) and high sovereign-related exposure (around 2x ABL's equity),” Fitch said in a press release.

© 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.