Fitch cuts Egyptian banks

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded National Bank of Egypt, its wholly owned subsidiary National Bank of Egypt (UK) Ltd. and Commercial International Bank's long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings to BB- from BB.

The outlook is negative.

Fitch said the downgrades and the negative outlook reflect the earlier rating action taken on the Arab Republic of Egypt's ratings. The sovereign rating action reflects the substantial and continuous erosion of Egypt's international reserves in 2011, which accelerated in October and November, along with ongoing political turbulence which is delaying economic recovery and has contributed to worsened debt dynamics.

The banks' viability ratings are unaffected by the rating action, but the impact of the operating environment in Egypt on the banks' performance and their VRs is under review, Fitch said.

© 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.