New York, March 05, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service today affirmed all of Banco de Credito del Peru
(BCP)'s ratings including its D+ bank financial strength rating (BFSR),
Baa2/Prime-2 long and short term local currency deposit ratings,
and Baa3/Prime-3 long and short term foreign currency deposit ratings.
At the same time, Moody's affirmed the Baa3 local currency
subordinated debt rating and the Baa2 and Baa3 ratings of the foreign
currency senior and subordinated debt issued via its Panamanian Branch.
All the ratings have a stable outlook, with the exception of the
foreign currency deposit rating, which has a positive outlook,
in line with the positive outlook of the sovereign ceiling for foreign
currency deposits in Peru.
The following ratings were affirmed:
Banco de Credito del Peru:
Bank financial strength rating: D+, stable
Long term local currency deposit rating: Baa2, stable
Short term local currency deposit rating: Prime-2
Long term foreign currency deposit rating: Baa3, positive
Short term foreign currency deposit rating: Prime-3
Banco de Credito del Peru -- Panama Branch
Foreign currency senior debt rating: Baa2, stable
Foreign currency subordinated debt rating: Baa3, stable
Local currency subordinated debt rating: Baa3, stable
RATINGS RATIONALE
The affirmation of BCP's ratings reflects the bank's growing
core profitability, increasing business diversification, well
managed asset quality and liquidity, and improving capitalization.
BCP continued to expand during 2011 and was able to slightly increase
its lending market shares amid intensifying competition from both international
and regional players. Moody's notes the bank's earnings
continued to benefit from healthy growth of net interest income and fees
during 2011, helping to offset the strong rise in operating and
provisioning expenses due to business expansion.
Moody's notes this growth is not without its challenges, however.
BCP's net interest margin (NIM) has come under pressure in recent
years due in part to its largely corporate loan mix, which yields
lower spreads, and the addition of a large amount of term debt to
support the bank's longer term mortgage and commercial lending portfolios.
Dampening margins across the system call into question the risk-reward
opportunities in corporate banking and point to further shifts towards
higher yielding business by the banks in Peru.
BCP is looking to further expand its already extensive retail franchise,
but with greater emphasis on retail and consumer lending, including
mortgages and credit cards, as well as on small business lending
(SME) and microfinance. At the same time, high growth in
the higher risk consumer and SME lending segments could change the bank's
asset quality profile. On the positive side, greater emphasis
on these business lines should boost fee capture and provide increased
cross-selling opportunities.
On the corporate side, challenges include BCP's relatively
high and increasing single borrower concentrations, as well as the
bank's increasing appetite for corporate finance and investment
banking transactions, in Peru and in the region. While the
bank and the group have shown a disciplined approach to this business
so far, the recent acquisition of Colombia's brokerage house
Correval (which is pending of regulatory approval) exposes the bank to
the potential for greater asset quality risks and earnings volatility.
At this juncture, the bank's strong earnings, reserve
coverage and capitalization provide adequate buffer to absorb unexpected
losses, said Moody's.
BCP's Baa2 local currency deposit rating reflects one notch of uplift
as a result of Moody's assessment of a very high probability of
systemic support for the bank's obligations if needed. The
Baa3 foreign currency deposit rating remains constrained by the Peruvian
country ceiling for deposits, and has a positive outlook in line
with that of the ceiling.
Based in Lima, Peru, Banco de Crédito del Perú
reported US$25.5 billion in consolidated assets, US$
2.3 billion in equity and US$ 534 million in net income
as of December 31, 2011. It was the country's largest
bank, with a 33% market share of loans and 34% of
deposits. BCP is the largest subsidiary of Credicorp Ltd.
(97.41% owned), a leading Peruvian financial services
holding company.
The last rating action on BCP was on March 21, 2011, when
Moody's affirmed the Baa3 long term foreign currency deposit rating
and changed the outlook to positive from stable.
The methodologies used in this rating were Bank Financial Strength Ratings:
Global Methodology published in February 2007, and Incorporation
of Joint-Default Analysis into Moody's Bank Ratings: A Refined
Methodology published in March 2007. Please see the Credit Policy
page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
Although this credit rating has been issued in a non-EU country
which has not been recognized as endorsable at this date, this credit
rating is deemed "EU qualified by extension" and may still
be used by financial institutions for regulatory purposes until 30 April
2012. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the
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on www.moodys.com.
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Jeanne Del Casino
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
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M. Celina Vansetti
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
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Moody's affirms Banco de Credito del Peru's ratings