New York, December 06, 2012 -- Moody's Investors Service downgraded the long-term ratings
of US Bancorp and its subsidiaries. US Bancorp's senior debt
rating was lowered to A1 from Aa3 and the standalone bank financial strength
rating (BFSR)/baseline credit assessment (BCA) of its lead operating bank,
U.S. Bank National Association, was lowered to B/aa3
from B+/aa2. The bank's long-term deposit rating
was lowered to Aa3 from Aa2. This concludes the review for possible
downgrade that commenced on September 20, 2012. The Prime-1
rating of US Bancorp was not on review and remains unchanged. Following
today's rating action, the outlook on US Bancorp is stable.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Moody's said that the downgrade of US Bancorp reflects the inescapable
challenges that even a well-managed and diverse banking franchise
currently faces. Among these challenges are protracted low interest
rates that will place pressure on US Bancorp's net interest margin,
evolving operating constraints that will continue to affect revenues and
expenses, including those influenced by regulation, and heightened
lending competition from peers that are actively seeking to expand in
a slow-growth economy. Additionally, US Bancorp has
increased its dependence on potentially volatile mortgage banking income.
Taken together, these challenges suggest a modest decrease in US
Bancorp's core earnings power relative to Moody's previous
expectations.
Notwithstanding today's downgrade, US Bancorp continues to
be one of Moody's highest-rated banks, both domestically
and globally. This positioning recognizes the strength of its diverse
business model, which results in limited concentration risk,
superior operating efficiency, and above average and more stable
earnings than other banks. Moreover, to the extent these
attributes endure, US Bancorp will remain comparatively highly-rated.
Despite US Bancorp's business line diversity, the rating agency
noted that US Bancorp's expanded mortgage banking platform exposes
it to some incremental volatility, particularly as gain on sale
margins weaken from their current historically high levels. In
Moody's view, US Bancorp's recent growth in mortgage
banking has been well-timed, but the business has attracted
significant regulatory and political attention, and the ultimate
structure of the US mortgage market remains unclear. As a result,
while currently robust, US Bancorp's earnings from mortgage
banking are exposed to heightened volatility, with a bias towards
weaker earnings over time, said Moody's.
The stable outlook on US Bancorp's ratings reflects the strengths
cited above as well as US Bancorp's strong credit quality, prudent
liquidity and good capital position.
Finally, as part of today's rating action, Moody's
also downgraded the backed long-term deposit and issuer ratings
of US Bancorp's Irish subsidiary, Elavon Financial Services
Limited, to Aa3 from Aa2 and left the ratings on review for possible
further downgrade. Elavon's ratings have historically been
linked to those of US Bank, NA, which guarantees Elavon's
obligations. However, as a result of Moody's September
2012 reduction in Ireland's country ceiling to A3 from Aaa,
Elavon's long-term ratings will remain on review for possible
downgrade.
In reviewing Elavon's ratings, Moody's will evaluate
the existing US Bank, NA guarantee and other documents to assess
the risk to Elavon's creditors of a potential exit and currency
redenomination in the unlikely event of a default by the Irish sovereign.
Additionally, because Elavon's long-term ratings could
be lowered to the A3 Irish country ceiling (a level that is typically
consistent with a Prime-2 short-term rating), Moody's
also placed Elavon's Prime-1 short-term rating on
review for possible downgrade. Moody's expects to conclude
the review of Elavon's ratings in the next several weeks.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Moody's Consolidated
Global Bank Rating Methodology published in June 2012. Please see
the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this
methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
The Global Scale Credit Ratings on this press release that are issued
by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU are endorsed by Moody's
Investors Service Ltd., One Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E 14 5FA, UK, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
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
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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
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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,
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for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%) and
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the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Allen H. Tischler
Senior Vice President
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
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Robert Franklyn Young
MD - Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
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U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's downgrades US Bancorp (senior debt to A1 from Aa3)