Moody's cuts 10 Philippine banks

Moody's Investors Service said it lowered the foreign currency debt and deposit ratings to B1 of 10 Philippine banks following the downgrade of the Philippines' country ceilings for foreign currency bonds and bank deposits, as well as the local currency government bond rating. The outlooks for the banks are stable.

The banks are Allied Banking Corp., Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Development Bank of the Philippines, Equitable-PCI Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and UnionBank of the Philippines.

The B1 credit rating of United Coconut Planters Bank was affirmed with a stable outlook.

The actions, which do not reflect bank-specific issues, conclude the review initiated on Nov. 9.

Furthermore, the local currency deposit ratings of Development Bank of the Philippines and Philippine National Bank were downgraded to Ba2 from Ba1. Consequently, the local currency subordinated debt of Philippine National Bank was lowered to Ba3 from Ba2. Similarly, the foreign currency subordinated debt ratings of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Equitable-PCI Bank were lowered to B1 from Ba2.

Moody's said it believes the government's willingness to assist the system's major and state-controlled banks remains strong. However, the government's fiscal constraints, as well as the potential for regulatory hurdles, could impede the administration of support to these important banks.

© 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.