Action follows upgrade of parent -- Banco Santander SA -- to Baa1 with a stable outlook.
Madrid, March 12, 2014 -- Moody's Investor's Service has today upgraded to Baa1 from
Baa2 the long-term debt and deposit ratings of Santander Consumer
Finance S.A.and its guaranteed subsidiaries, while
maintaining a stable outlook on the aforementioned ratings. At
the same time, Moody's affirmed Santander Consumer Finance's
standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) at C- (equivalent
to a baa2 baseline credit assessment (BCA)), and maintained a stable
outlook on the BFSR. The bank's short-term ratings
were affirmed at Prime-2.
Today, Moody's has also upgraded Santander Consumer Finance's
senior subordinated debt to Baa2 from Baa3 and maintained a stable outlook.
The rating actions reflect (1) the upgrade of Santander Consumer Finance's
parent Banco Santander S.A. (Spain) to Baa1 with a stable
outlook. The latter is also the provider of ongoing liquidity and
capital support. (For full details on the parent's rating
action, please refer to "Moody's upgrades Banco Santander
to Baa1; maintains stable outlook", published on 4 March
2014, https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-upgrades-Banco-Santander-to-Baa1-maintains-stable-outlook--PR_293506);
and (2) Moody's view that Santander Consumer Finance's creditworthiness
remains resilient despite the still weak growth prospects in some of its
core markets.
RATINGS RATIONALE
RATIONALE FOR UPGRADING THE DEBT RATING
The upgrade of Santander Consumer Finance's debt and deposit ratings
follows the upgrade of Banco Santander S.A.'s ratings.
Moody's assesses a high probability of support to Santander Consumer
Finance from Banco Santander S.A. (deposits Baa1 stable,
BFSR C-, stable/BCA baa1). As a result of this support
assessment, Santander Consumer Finance's long-term
debt and deposit ratings receive one notch of uplift from its baa2 BCA.
RATIONALE FOR AFFIRMING THE BFSR
As already stated in the press release published on 14 February 2014 (please
refer to "Moody's changes outlook on Santander Consumer Finance's
Baa2 ratings to stable from negative, affirms ratings",
https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-changes-outlook-on-Santander-Consumer-Finances-Baa2-ratings-to--PR_292466),
today's affirmation of Santander Consumer Finance's ratings
reflects Moody's view that the group's risk-absorption
capacity will remain resilient in 2014, in light of the improved
economic prospects of some of Santander Consumer Finance's core
markets, namely Spain (Baa2 positive), Italy (Baa2 stable)
and Portugal (Ba3 stable). This view is highlighted by the stabilising
trend in asset-quality indicators and sound earnings generation
capacity displayed in 2013.
Santander Consumer Finance's ratings incorporate the pressures on
earnings stemming from subdued business levels across most of its markets
(including its largest contributor -- Germany) and very low interest
rates. Moody's says that these pressures will be mitigated
by Santander Consumer Finance's lower provisioning efforts in 2014
as credit trends in Europe continue to stabilise. At the same time,
Moody's views favourably the entity's improved capitalisation
levels in recent years, underpinned by Banco Santander's ongoing
parental support. Liquidity, however, remains a rating
constraint as a result of Santander Consumer Finance's reliance
on intra-group funding.
Moody's notes that Santander Consumer Finance's baa2 BCA fully
reflects the entity's current credit profile which excludes the
effects of credit linkage with the sovereign, therefore the BCA
is no longer constrained by Spain's government bond rating.
Due to its high degree of geographical diversification Santander Consumer
Finance had been rated one notch higher than the Baa3 sovereign rating
for Spain prior to 21 February.
RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK
The stable outlook on Santander Consumer Finance's standalone BFSR
reflects Moody's views that the stabilising trend in the bank's
asset quality indicators and strong earnings diversification will enable
to it offset pressures arising from the still weak growth prospects in
most of Santander Consumer Finance's core markets.
The stable outlook on Santander Consumer Finance's debt and deposit
ratings reflects (1) the stable outlook of its standalone rating;
and (2) the stable outlook of its Banco Santander S.A.'s
ratings.
SUBORDINATED DEBT RATINGS
In accordance with Moody's notching guidelines, Santander
Consumer Finance's subordinated debt is rated is one notch below
the bank's adjusted BCA, which incorporates our assessment
of parental support. In line with the upgrade of Santander Consumer
Finance's parent, Banco Santander S.A. to Baa1
stable, the bank's adjusted BCA has been upgraded to baa1
from baa2. This has triggered the upgrade of Santander Consumer
Finance's senior subordinated debt ratings to Baa2 from Baa3.
The outlook on these ratings remains stable.
WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATING UP/DOWN
Any upward pressure on Santander Consumer Finance's standalone rating
would need to balance the positive rating drivers stemming from its diversified
and relatively resilient earning streams with: (1) ongoing challenges
stemming from some of its core markets such as Spain and Italy; (2)
reliance on intra-group funding and; (3) cyclicality of the
consumer finance business, which renders the bank highly vulnerable
to economic downturns.
Downward pressure on Santander Consumer Finance's BCA could ultimately
result from (1) greater downwards pressure on capital levels or asset
quality, or deterioration in recurring earnings power beyond Moody's
current expectations; or (2) deterioration of the bank's funding
profile, i.e., if the entity faces difficulties
in refinancing its debt redemptions in the wholesale markets. The
ratings could also come under pressure if Spain's economy falls
back into recession and/or in the event of weaker-than-anticipated
performance of the bank's international activities.
Santander Consumer Finance's debt ratings could be downgraded as
a result of a downgrade of the BFSR of the parent (Banco Santander).
As Santander Consumer Finance's debt and deposit ratings are linked
to the standalone BCA, any change to the BCA would likely also affect
these ratings.
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Global Banks published
in May 2013. Please see the Credit Policy 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 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 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 rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this 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.
The below contact information is provided for information purposes only.
Please see the ratings tab of the issuer page at www.moodys.com,
for each of the ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the
lead analyst and the Moody's legal entity that has issued the ratings.
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.
Maria Jose Mori
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A.
Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta
Madrid 28002
Spain
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Johannes Felix Wassenberg
MD - Banking
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Espana, S.A.
Calle Principe de Vergara, 131, 6 Planta
Madrid 28002
Spain
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
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Moody's upgrades Santander Consumer Finance's deposit ratings to Baa1; maintains stable outlook