Banco ABC Brasil S.A. -- Moody's takes rating actions on Brazilian banks following update to country ceilings methodology
Rating Action: Moody's takes rating actions on Brazilian banks following update to country ceilings methodology
Global Credit Research - 11 Dec 2020
New York, December 11, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has today taken rating actions on 28 Brazilian banks, including the upgrade of the long-term foreign currency deposit ratings of 27 of them. The rating actions were driven by changes in the local currency (LC) and foreign currency (FC) country ceilings applied to the jurisdictions of the banks following the publication of Moody's updated Country Ceilings Methodology on 7 December 2020. This methodology is available at this link: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1225594.
ENTITIES AFFECTED
Banco ABC Brasil S.A.
Banco Alfa de Investimento S.A.
Banco BOCOM BBM S.A. Banco Bradesco S.A. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Banco BV Banco Cetelem S.A. Banco Citibank S.A. Banco Daycoval S.A. Banco do Brasil S.A.
Banco do Estado de Sergipe S.A.
Banco do Estado do Para S.A.
Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A.
Banco Ford S.A.
Banco Mizuho do Brasil S.A.
Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social -- BNDES
Banco Psa Finance Brasil S.A.
Banco RCI Brasil S.A.
Banco Safra S.A.
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A.
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. - Cayman Br
Banco Sofisa S.A.
Banco Yamaha Motor Do Brasil S.A.
Caixa Economica Federal (Caixa)
ICBC do Brasil Banco Multiplo S.A.
ING Bank N.V. - Sao Paulo
Itau Unibanco S.A.
Itau Unibanco S.A. (Cayman Islands)
A full list of affected ratings can be found at the end of this press release.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Today's rating actions on 28 Brazilian banks and branches were driven by changes in country ceilings under Moody's updated country ceilings methodology. Country ceilings indicate the highest rating level that generally can be assigned to the financially strongest obligations of issuers domiciled in a country.
The updated ceilings methodology has unified deposit ceilings with the typically higher debt ceilings, whereby LC and FC country ceilings are no longer distinguished between deposit and debt ceilings. These changes reflect Moody's view that the risks that affect access to bank deposits are not materially different from those that affect the ability of banks and non-banks to service their debt obligations.
FOREIGN CURRENCY CEILINGS
As a result of the methodology change, FC ceilings as applied to long-term FC deposits and debt have been raised in Brazil, resulting in upgrades of FC deposits for 27 entities and upgrades of FC counterparty risk ratings of eight entities. As a result of those changes on long-term ratings, the short-term FC counterparty risk ratings of eight entities and the short-term deposit ratings of three entities were also upgraded.
LOCAL CURRENCY CEILINGS
LC ceilings as applied to debt and deposits have been lowered for Brazil. ING Bank N.V. - Sao Paulo was the only bank affected by this change, and its LC deposit rating, LC counterparty risk rating and counterparty risk assessment were downgraded to Baa1 and Baa1(cr), from A3 and A3(cr). As a full branch of ING Bank N.V. (Aa3 stable), Moody's does not assign a standalone baseline credit assessment to ING Bank N.V. - Sao Paulo, and given its parent's Aa3 ratings, its ratings remain constrained by both the LC and FC country ceilings.
OUTLOOK
The rating outlooks for the banks affected by today's rating action remain unchanged, with the exception of Banco Cetelem S.A., Banco do Estado de Sergipe S.A. and Banco Ford S.A.. The outlooks on these three entities´ FC deposit ratings were changed to negative from stable. The previous stable outlook was driven by the fact these entities' FC deposit ratings were constrained by the country ceiling and therefore carried the stable outlook of the sovereign, despite the negative outlook on their remaining ratings.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
Following the change in the FC country ceiling and the corresponding changes of the ratings of Banco ABC Brasil S.A., Banco Alfa de Investimento S.A., Banco BOCOM BBM S.A., Banco Bradesco S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco BV, Banco Cetelem S.A., Banco Citibank S.A., Banco Daycoval S.A., Banco do Brasil S.A., Banco do Estado de Sergipe S.A., Banco do Estado do Para S.A., Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A., Banco Ford S.A., Banco Mizuho do Brasil S.A., Banco Nac. Desenv. Economico e Social -- BNDES, Banco Psa Finance Brasil S.A., Banco RCI Brasil S.A., Banco Safra S.A., Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. - Cayman Br, Banco Sofisa S.A., Banco Yamaha Motor Do Brasil S.A., Caixa Economica Federal (Caixa), ICBC do Brasil Banco Multiplo S.A., Itau Unibanco S.A. and Itau Unibanco S.A. (Cayman Islands), their ratings are no longer constrained by the country ceilings and therefore an upward movement of the ceiling would not lead to ratings upgrades. However, because these entities' FC ratings are still placed at the level of the ceiling, a lowering of the latter would lead to rating downgrades.
All ING Bank N.V. - Sao Paulo's ratings continue to be constrained by both LC and FC ceilings, and therefore an upward/downward movement of Brazil's country ceilings would lead to an upgrade/downgrade of the entity's ratings.
These FC deposit and debt ratings, however, could also be affected by changes in respective banks' Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) and/or their supported local currency deposit ratings. Upward movement on most of these issuers BCAs and their respective local currency deposit ratings is unlikely at this point and would be more dependent on an upgrade of the Government of Brazil's bond ratings, which has a stable outlook.
Negative pressures, however, could arise from the deterioration of the banks' asset quality as coronavirus-related loan deferrals come to an end by Q1 2021. A slower than expected economic recovery in Brazil could also pressures banks' earnings generation in 2021, possibly affecting some banks' capitalization ratios.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
..Issuer: Banco ABC Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Alfa de Investimento S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco BOCOM BBM S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Bradesco S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco BTG Pactual S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco BV
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Cetelem S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3, outlook changed to negative from stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Citibank S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
.Short-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Daycoval S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco do Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco do Estado de Sergipe S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook changed to negative from stable
..Issuer: Banco do Estado do Para S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Ford S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook changed to negative from stable
..Issuer: Banco Mizuho do Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social -- BNDES
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Psa Finance Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco RCI Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Safra S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. - Cayman Br
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Banco Sofisa S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Banco Yamaha Motor Do Brasil S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba1 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa3 from Ba1
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-3 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Caixa Economica Federal (Caixa)
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: ICBC do Brasil Banco Multiplo S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: ING Bank N.V. - Sao Paulo
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Baa2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global local currency deposit rating, downgraded to Baa1 from A3, outlook remains stable
....Long-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Baa2 from Ba1
....Long-term global local currency counterparty risk rating, downgraded to Baa1 from A3
....Long-term counterparty risk assessment, downgraded to Baa1(cr) from A3 (cr)
....Short-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Prime-2 from Not Prime
....Short-term global foreign currency counterparty risk rating, upgraded to Prime-2 from Not Prime
..Issuer: Itau Unibanco S.A.
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating, upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, outlook remains stable
..Issuer: Itau Unibanco S.A. (Cayman Islands)
....Long-term global foreign currency deposit note / CD program, upgraded to (P)Ba2 from (P)Ba3
Outlook Actions: ..Issuer: Banco Cetelem S.A.
.Outlook changed to Negative from Negative(m)
..Issuer: Banco do Estado de Sergipe S.A.
.Outlook changed to Negative from Negative(m)
..Issuer: Banco Ford S.A.
.Outlook changed to Negative from Negative(m)
METHODOLOGIES
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1147865. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.
Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.
The below contact information is provided for information purposes only. Please see the ratings tab of the issuer page at www.moodys.com, for each of the ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the lead rating analyst and the Moody's legal entity that has issued the ratings.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
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