Ratings of UniCredit Luxembourg affirmed at Baa2, outlook negative
Frankfurt am Main, July 15, 2013 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today
affirmed the A3 long-term senior debt and deposit ratings of UniCredit
Bank AG (UCB), and those of UniCredit Luxembourg (UCL) at Baa2.
Moody's also affirmed the short-term ratings of both banks
at Prime-2 and the outlook on all of these ratings remains negative.
Today's rating action follows Moody's lowering of UniCredit
SpA's (UniCredit) standalone credit assessment to D+/baa3 from
C-/baa2 and the affirmation of its supported long-term senior
ratings at Baa2, all with negative outlooks. For further
details, please refer to the press release "Moody's
affirms UniCredit's Baa2/P-2 rating; lowers BCA to baa3"
dated 15 July 2013.
Furthermore, Moody's affirmed UCB's Baa3 subordinated
debt ratings, its Ba1 (hyb) hybrid debt ratings, and the bank's
C- bank financial strength rating (BFSR) -- equivalent
to a baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa2 -- as well
as UCL's C-/baa2 standalone credit assessment, which
is aligned with that of UCB.
For a detailed list of ratings affected, please refer to the end
of the press release.
RATINGS RATIONALE
-- UCB: AFFIRMATION OF RATINGS
The affirmation of UCB's C-/baa2 standalone credit assessment reflects
Moody's view of the bank's robust credit profile in combination
with high loss-absorption capacity from earnings and capital.
In addition, the rating agency takes into account the degree of
UCB's strategic, financial and operational interconnectedness
with its Milan-based parent bank. Moody's recognises
the achieved level of ring fencing from credit risks elsewhere in the
group because UCB has substantially reduced the previously high intragroup
exposures. At the same time, the continued correlation in
the areas of reputation and investor confidence have also been taken into
account. The combination of these factors positions UCB's
baa2 BCA at a level no higher than one notch above that of UniCredit (baa3).
The affirmation of UCB's debt and deposit ratings is driven by Moody's
unchanged assumption of a high probability of systemic support from Germany
(Aaa, negative), which results in a two-notch uplift
for UCB's A3 long-term ratings from its baa2 BCA.
Given UniCredit's baa3 BCA, UCB's long-term ratings do not
benefit from rating uplift, despite Moody's assessment of
a high likelihood of parental support.
-- UCL: AFFIRMATION OF RATINGS
As a highly integrated subsidiary of UCB, UCL's standalone baa2
BCA is aligned with that of UCB. Given UCL's integrated management
and role as a service provider predominantly for Munich-based UCB,
its financial profile and profitability are strongly influenced by the
parent bank. Therefore, UCL's Baa2 deposit ratings reflect
UCB's baa2 standalone BCA and Moody's assessment of a high probability
from parental support in the event of need. UCL's Baa2 long-term
ratings do not incorporate any uplift from systemic support, as
Moody's does not expect the bank to receive systemic support in
Luxembourg in the case of financial distress.
RATIONALE FOR NEGATIVE OUTLOOK
The negative outlook on UCB's long-term ratings follows the
negative outlook on its C- BFSR.
The negative outlook on UCB's standalone BFSR reflects the negative outlook
on its parent bank's D+ BFSR. As the group's centre
for corporate and investment banking activities, UCB exhibits a
high, natural business-related interconnectedness with its
parent bank and other group entities. However, Moody's
recognises the reduction in intragroup exposures and therefore achieved
level of ring-fencing. As such, Moody's will
re-assess intra-group exposures and the degree of operational
interconnectedness, if UniCredit's standalone credit strength
weakens further.
WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATINGS UP/DOWN
Upwards pressure on UCB's BFSR -- and in turn for UCL's
BFSR -- could develop as a result of (1) changes in the
bank's earnings profile, with a reduced weight of capital markets-related
activities and larger earnings contributions from more stable and less
volatile businesses; (2) sustained improvements of asset-quality
indicators; (3) the effective ring-fencing of credit risks
and exposures with other UniCredit group entities; and/or (4) an
improvement of UniCredit's BCA at the same time as a strengthening
of UCB's risk profile.
Downwards pressure on UCB's BFSR -- and in turn for UCL's
BFSR -- could be triggered by (1) a weakening in the bank's
financial fundamentals; and (2) an increase of risk appetite in --
and earnings volatility stemming from -- UCB's investment
banking activities. Weaker financial fundamentals, could
arise, for example, as a result of a significant deterioration
of the macro-economic environment beyond our current expectations
leading to higher credit losses and pressure on margins and earnings.
In addition, negative pressure on UCB's and UCL's ratings
could also be triggered by a lowering of UniCredit's BCA, depending
on Moody's assessment of intra-group exposures and the degree
of operational interconnectedness between UCB and the group, at
that time.
Similarly, UCB's long-term debt and deposit ratings could
be downgraded if Moody's considers that the systemic support available
to the bank has weakened; however, Moody's considers
that this is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
The following ratings of UCB were affirmed:
- C- BFSR mapping to a baa2 BCA;
- A3 long-term senior debt and deposit ratings and issuer
rating;
- P-2 short-term debt and deposit ratings;
- Baa3 senior subordinated debt rating;
- Ba1 (hyb) preferred stock ratings, issued by HVB Funding
Trust I-III, and VI.
The following ratings of UCL were affirmed:
- C- BFSR mapping to a baa2 BCA;
- Baa2 long-term deposit ratings and issuer rating;
- P-2 short-term deposit ratings.
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGIES
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Global Banks published
in May 2013. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt 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 rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
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 rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this 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.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
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.
Swen Metzler
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
An der Welle 5
Frankfurt am Main 60322
Germany
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Carola Schuler
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
An der Welle 5
Frankfurt am Main 60322
Germany
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's affirms UniCredit Bank AG's A3 ratings; outlooks remain negative