New York, March 08, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service has changed to stable, from negative,
the outlook on Banco ABC Brasil S.A.'s (BAB),
D+ bank financial strength rating (BFSR), the global local
and foreign currency long-term deposit ratings of Baa3; the
foreign-currency subordinated debt rating of Ba1; and the
long-term Brazilian national scale deposit rating of Aa1.br.
The outlook on BAB's short-term global and national scale
deposit ratings of Prime 3 and BR-1, respectively,
is stable and remain unchanged.
The outlook change follows the action on the ratings of BAB's parent
bank, Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C. (ABC),
published on March 5, 2012. For further details, please
refer to the press release "Moody's changes Arab Banking Corporation (ABC)'s
outlook to stable from negative". The action on ABC was prompt
by the normalization of economic and political conditions in the middle
east region, and more specifically in Bahrain and Libya, which
were under stress last year.
The following ratings of Banco ABC Brasil S.A. had the outlook
changed to stable from negative:
Bank financial strength rating of D+
Long-term global local currency deposit rating of Baa3
Long-term global foreign currency deposit rating of Baa3
Long-term Brazilian national scale rating of Aa1.br
Long-term foreign currency subordinated debt rating of Ba1
RATINGS RATIONALE
Moody's explained that the stable outlook on BAB's unsupported
BFSR reflects the bank's long-track record of superior asset
quality, when compared to peers at the same rating level,
and consolidated position in corporate lending and trade finance business
in Brazil. The rating also incorporates the structural vulnerability
of a franchise that is largely wholesale funded, and thus,
sensitive to volatility in investors' confidence, although
there is no reliance on parent's funds. Management has concentrated
efforts to increase the lengthening of funding mix which has resulted
in higher costs compensated by the growing SME lending platform,
a higher-yielding business. While BAB reported moderated
loan growth in 2011 on the back of inflationary pressures and decelerating
economic growth, management indicated that growth should accelerate
this year, although under the bank's disciplined credit underwriting
policies that have ensured stable asset quality. The bank's
consistent financial performance that derives from a disciplined credit
risk control, adequate liquidity structure and strong capital base,
are the main drivers that sustain the franchise's steady business
origination capacity.
Moody's noted that the Baa3 long-term global scale deposit
rating maps directly from its Baa3 baseline credit assessment and does
not incorporate any uplift of support from its parent bank because the
parent's rating is currently Ba1.
Last rating action on Banco ABC Brasil took place on March 21, 2011,
when Moody's changed the outlook to negative from stable on all ratings
assigned to BAB, in response to negative outlook of the parent and
the potential effects to the Brazilian subsidiary related to pressures
arising from increased in risk aversion of investors to the region and
to ABC's related banking business. The weakening of the parent's
standalone financial strength was also a concern at the time.
The principal methodologies used in rating Banco ABC Brasil 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.
Other methodologies and factors that may have been considered in the process
of rating these issuers can also be found on Moody's website.
Based in São Paulo, Banco ABC Brasil S.A. had
total assets of approximately R$10.51 billion (US$5.64
billion) and equity of R$1.5 billion (US$805.2
million) as of December 31, 2011.
The Local Market analyst for this rating is Ceres Lisboa, +55
(11) 3043-7317
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
Moody's office that has issued a particular Credit Rating is available
on www.moodys.com.
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant 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 relevant 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 relevant 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.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
a rating.
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uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
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information received in the rating process.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating
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Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history. The date on
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Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has
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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.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
M. Celina Vansetti
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's changes Banco ABC Brasil's outlook to stable from negative