London, 17 July 2019 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") today assigned
(P)Baa2 ratings to Skipton Building Society's (Skipton) junior senior
unsecured Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme, based on the final
prospectus dated 17 July 2019.
The senior non-preferred notes, which are referred to as
"junior senior unsecured" notes by Moody's, may be issued
under Skipton's GBP2 billion EMTN Programme. They will rank junior
to other senior unsecured obligations, including senior unsecured
debt, and senior to subordinated debt in resolution and insolvency.
Moody's has also affirmed Skipton's local currency (P)Baa1
Senior Unsecured MTN and local currency (P)Baa2 Subordinate MTN ratings.
Finally, Moody's assigned (P)Baa1 and (P)Baa2 foreign currency
Senior Unsecured MTN and Subordinate MTN ratings and local and foreign
currency (P)Prime-2 Other Short Term ratings to the programme,
based on the same prospectus.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Moody's said that the (P)Baa2 rating assigned to Skipton's junior senior
unsecured programme reflects (i) the bank's baa1 standalone baseline credit
assessment (BCA); (ii) high loss-given-failure,
which results in a rating that is one notch below the BCA; and (iii)
a low probability of government support for junior senior instruments,
which results in no further uplift.
Skipton's baa1 standalone BCA reflects on the one hand, a
low stock of problem loans, strong capital and stable retail funding;
on the other hand, margin pressure and structural dependence on
the UK housing market.
Skipton is subject to the UK implementation of the EU Bank Recovery and
Resolution Directive, which Moody's considers to be an operational
resolution regime. The agency therefore applies its Advanced Loss
Given Failure (LGF) analysis to determine the loss-given-failure
of junior senior notes issued by Skipton. According to this analysis,
Skipton's junior senior debt is likely to face high loss-given-failure,
due to the limited loss absorption provided by subordinated debt and residual
equity in a resolution scenario, as well as the volume of junior
senior debt that Moody's expects Skipton to issue in the next 12-18
months.
Given that the purpose of the junior senior notes is to provide additional
loss absorption and improve the ability of authorities to resolve ailing
banks, government support for these instruments is unlikely,
in Moody's view. The rating agency therefore attributes a low probability
of government support to Skipton's junior senior notes, which does
not result in any further uplift to the rating.
The EMTN programme allows Skipton to issue debt in any currency,
and, for senior notes, with any maturity. Moody's
affirmed the local currency (P)Baa1 and (P)Baa2 Senior Unsecured MTN and
Subordinate MTN ratings, assigned foreign currency (P)Baa1 and (P)Baa2
Senior Unsecured MTN and Subordinate MTN ratings, and assigned (P)Prime-2
Other Short Term ratings to the programme, taking into account (1)
Skipton's BCA; (1) moderate and high loss-given-failure
for senior and subordinated debt respectively; (3) a low probability
of government support for Skipton's liabilities due to the society's
small size in the UK banking sector; (4) the Aaa foreign currency
bond ceiling for the UK; and (5) Moody's standard mapping for
short-term ratings.
OUTLOOK
Programme ratings and junior senior unsecured debt ratings do not carry
outlooks.
Skipton's long-term deposit and senior debt ratings have positive
outlooks, indicating Skipton's reducing asset risk and improving
risk-adjusted capitalisation.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE
Skipton's BCA could be upgraded given stable or improved profitability
and stable asset risk. A one-notch upgrade of the BCA would
lead to an upgrade of the long-term deposit, senior unsecured,
junior senior unsecured, and subordinate ratings; a two-notch
upgrade of the BCA, which is unlikely at the moment, would
lead to an upgrade of the short-term and other short term ratings.
The society's long-term deposit and senior unsecured debt
rating could be upgraded following an upgrade of the BCA, or a material
increase in the stock of bail-in-able unsecured debt.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE
The probability of a downgrade is currently low, as indicated by
the positive outlook.
Skipton's outlook on the long-term deposit and senior debt
ratings could be changed to stable from positive if the society's
loan book deteriorates or profitability materially declines.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
Issuer: Skipton Building Society
..Assignments:
....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note
Program (Foreign Currency), assigned (P)Baa1
....Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program
(Foreign Currency), assigned (P)Baa2
....Junior Senior Unsecured Medium-Term
Note Program (Local and Foreign Currency) , Assigned (P)Baa2
....Other Short Term (Local and Foreign Currency),
assigned (P)P-2
..Affirmations:
....Senior Unsecured Medium-Term Note
Program (Local Currency), affirmed (P)Baa1
....Subordinate Medium-Term Note Program
(Local Currency), affirmed (P)Baa2
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks published in
August 2018. Please see the Rating Methodologies 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 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.
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.
Edoardo Calandro
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5FA
United Kingdom
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
Nicholas Hill
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5FA
United Kingdom
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454