Fitch cuts ratings on South Africas major banks following sovereign downgrade.

By bne IntelliNews January 16, 2013
Fitch Ratings has lowered by one notch the viability ratings of South Africas five biggest banks - Absa Bank, FirstRand Bank, Standard Bank, Nedbank, and Investec Bank and also the long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of four of the banks (excluding Absa) following the recent downgrade of the South African sovereign rating to BBB from BBB+. The ratings agency explained that the downgrades reflect the five major banks' concentration to South Africa, a high proportion of liquid assets invested in government securities and a weakening operating environment as indicated by the sovereign downgrade. The viability ratings of FirstRand, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Absa were downgraded to bbb, while Investec's is one notch lower at bbb-. The long-term IDRs of FirstRand, Nedbank and Standard Bank were cut to BBB from BBB+ and Investec's IDR was lowered to BBB- from BBB. Absas long-term IDR was affirmed at A-, as it is driven by the ratings of its 55.5%-owner, UK-based Barclays Bank (A/Stable), as Fitch considers Absa as being a strategically important subsidiary. The National Ratings of the major banking groups, excluding Absa, were affirmed, while Absa's National Long-term ratings have been upgraded to AAA(zaf).
Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

South Africas Exxaro mulls firing striking coal miners.

South African company Exxaro Resources said one of the options it currently considers is dismissing striking coal mine workers who fail to return to work in the week of March 25, fin24 reported ... more

South Africas Telkom says there is no decision to lay off 13,000 employees.

South Africas telecommunication operator Telkom said that it has not made a decision on retrenching 13,000 employees, or more than half of its staff, TechCentral reported quoting a company ... more

BP, Masana Petroleum Solutions sell LPG business in South Africa.

Oryx Energies, a major independent provider of oil and gas products and services in Africa, has agreed to buy the South African liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution businesses of BP and ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Missing money, delayed arms deliveries and demands for mining deals, Ukraine's relations with Trump are off to a rocky start
    1 day ago
  2. COMMENT: Trump should do a deal with OPEC and tighten sanctions further to collapse the Russian economy
    2 days ago
  3. El Salvador's bitcoin dream falters despite lofty crypto hub ambitions
    1 day ago
  4. Nicaragua unveils new canal route in bid to rival Panama
    2 months ago
  5. Can Eritrea’s mining sector flourish under autocratic rule?
    21 hours ago
  1. Nicaragua unveils new canal route in bid to rival Panama
    2 months ago
  2. Global access to energy starts to fall for the first time in a decade, says IEA
    7 months ago
  3. South Korea probes TikTok over alleged data consent violations
    3 months ago
  4. Missing money, delayed arms deliveries and demands for mining deals, Ukraine's relations with Trump are off to a rocky start
    1 day ago
  5. COMMENT: Trump should do a deal with OPEC and tighten sanctions further to collapse the Russian economy
    2 days ago

Reports

Dismiss