P-1 short term rating affirmed
London, 09 November 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for possible
downgrade the C- bank financial strength rating (BFSR) and A1 senior
unsecured debt and deposit rating of Lloyds TSB Bank plc, the A2
senior debt rating of Lloyds Banking Group, certain junior securities
and related group entities. For a full list of affected ratings
see below.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The review has been prompted by the significant upheaval within Lloyds'
senior management , following the announcement that the current
CEO, António Horta-Osório, has had to
take a temporary leave of absence. Moody's is concerned that
the group may face a major challenge in ensuring continuity of leadership,
given that (i) the CEO has only been in place since March 2011; and
(ii) there have been several high-level management changes since
his arrival, including the announcement that the current CFO will
leave in February 2012. The situation is exacerbated by the fact
that it comes at a time of turbulent conditions in the financial markets
and the necessity for Lloyds to execute important tasks, including
the EU-mandated sale of branches and the ongoing wind-down
of non-core assets.
The review will focus on Lloyds' board's ability to quickly
regain stability within the senior management team and the efficacy of
any new senior leadership arrangements.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/ DOWN
There is currently no upward rating pressure, as reflected in the
review for downgrade.
In addition to the factors described above, the standalone BFSR
could come under downward rating pressure if the group faces sharply higher
impairments/ and or credit losses leading to a requirement for additional
capital support. The debt ratings could be downgraded as a result
of any future further reduction in systemic support assumptions for large,
complex UK banks.
AFFECTED RATINGS
The following ratings have been placed under review for possible downgrade:
Lloyds TSB Bank:
A1 senior debt and deposit rating
C- Bank Financial Strength Rating (mapping to Baa1 on the long-term
scale)
Baa2 senior subordinated debt
Lloyds Banking Group: A2 senior debt rating
Bank of Scotland:
A1 senior debt and deposit rating
Baa2 senior subordinated rating
HBOS:
A2 senior debt rating
Baa3 senior subordinated debt
Lloyds TSB Offshore: A2 deposit rating
The Must-Pay hybrid instruments within Lloyds Banking Group (including
the Enhanced Capital Notes) have also been placed under review for possible
downgrade, as these instruments are notched down from the BFSR (for
more information on the hybrid securities and their ISINs, please
refer to Moody's press release of 23rd November 2009 "Moody's
concludes rating action on Lloyds hybrid and junior subordinated debt").
The following ratings have been affirmed:
Lloyds TSB Bank: P-1
May-Pay hybrid instruments within Lloyds Banking Group, as
these instruments are rated on an Expected Loss basis
The 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.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
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.
The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s)
and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following :
parties involved in the ratings, public information, and confidential
and proprietary Moody's Investors Service information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
this review.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not
an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate
information received in the rating process.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com
for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%)
and for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may
exist between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names
of entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported
to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%.
A member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a
member of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation;
however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating
Process page on www.moodys.com for further information on
the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and
recovery.
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
which some ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's
ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available.
Consequently, Moody's provides a date that it believes is
the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available
to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com
for further information.
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.
Elisabeth Rudman
Senior Vice President
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5FA
United Kingdom
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Johannes Wassenberg
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 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
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Moody's reviews Lloyds TSB's A1/ C- ratings for possible downgrade