Sao Paulo, December 05, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service assigned a bank financial strength rating (BFSR)
of D- (D minus) to Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A.
("Banco PSA"). At the same time, Moody's assigned
Ba1 and Not Prime long- and short-term global local-currency
deposit ratings to the entity, as well as long- and short-term
foreign currency deposit ratings of Ba1 and Not Prime. Moody's
also assigned to Banco PSA a Aa2.br and BR-1 long-and
short-term local-currency deposit ratings in the Brazilian
national scale. The outlook on all the ratings is stable.
RATING RATIONALE
Moody's said that its ratings for Banco PSA incorporate the bank's
business franchise as a full financial agent for PSA Peugeot & Citroën
in Brazil, which in turn has a commercial and strategic dependence
on its parent, Banque PSA Finance, as part of the PSA Peugeot
- Citroën Group of France. Likewise, the BFSR
incorporates the entity's adequate risk-management policies and
procedures that are aligned to its parent's, and which reflects
in conservative lending policies and well built asset portfolio.
The ratings also capture Banco PSA's operational agreement with
Banco Santander Brasil, which comprises funding and operational
support, thereby benefiting the bank's loan origination capability,
liquidity, and its efficiency, as it outsources its back office
operations to Santander. Adequate capitalization levels at the
bank reflect stable earnings generation and a policy of earnings retention,
which should support future growth plans.
The ratings are constrained by Banco PSA's limited banking operation
in the Brazilian market, as reflected by the Group PSA's modest
market share and monoline business origination focused on consumer vehicle
financing, a profile that inherently results in poor earnings diversification.
Just recently, the bank has added related insurance brokerage services
to its product mix. Banco PSA's relatively concentrated funding
profile is largely reliant on interbank lending; management's
plans to diversify funding sources and conditions would benefit the bank's
liquidity and margins over the medium term. However, Moody's
noted that a more difficult operating environment, coupled with
increasing competition in the car financing segment, could challenge
the bank's financial metrics, and its profitability and asset
quality in particular.
Moody's Ba1 global local-currency deposit rating incorporates Banco
PSA's Baseline Credit Assessment of Ba3, as well as Moody's assessment
of the high probability of parental support in case of stress.
Banco PSA ranks as one of the top largest earnings contributor to Banque
PSA globally, and it is therefore, an integral part of the
group's global strategy, aligned with the automaker's
growth plans. Our support assessment results in a two-notch
uplift of the local currency deposit rating to Ba1.
The principal 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.
Banco PSA is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, and
it presented unconsolidated assets of BRL 1.62 billion (or approximately
USD 1.04 billion) and equity amounting to BRL 285.4 million,
as of June 2011.
The following ratings were assigned to Banco PSA:
Bank Financial Strength Rating: D-, with stable outlook
Long- and short-term global local-currency deposit
ratings: Ba1 and Not Prime, with stable outlook
Long- and short-term foreign currency deposit ratings:
Ba1 and Not Prime, with stable outlook
Long-Term and short-term National Scale Local-Currency
Deposit Ratings: Aa2.br and BR-1, with stable
outlook
Moody's National Scale Ratings (NSRs) are intended as relative measures
of creditworthiness among debt issues and issuers within a country,
enabling market participants to better differentiate relative risks.
NSRs differ from Moody's global scale ratings in that they are not globally
comparable with the full universe of Moody's rated entities, but
only with NSRs for other rated debt issues and issuers within the same
country. NSRs are designated by a ".nn" country
modifier signifying the relevant country, as in ".mx"
for Mexico. For further information on Moody's approach to national
scale ratings, please refer to Moody's Rating Implementation Guidance
published in August 2010 entitled "Mapping Moody's National Scale
Ratings to Global Scale Ratings".
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 31 January
2012. ESMA may extend the use of credit ratings for regulatory
purposes in the European Community for three additional months,
until 30 April 2012, if ESMA decides that exceptional circumstances
arise that may imply potential market disruption or financial instability.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
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Ricardo Kovacs
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's America Latina Ltda.
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M. Celina Vansetti
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
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Releasing Office:
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Moody's assigns first-time ratings to Banco PSA Finance Brasil