Moody's affirms ICBC Standard Bank's ratings

Istanbul, May 17 (DHA) - Moody's Investors Service today affirmed the ICBC Standard Bank Plc's (ICBC SB) long- and short-term deposit ratings of Baa3/Prime-3 and the bank's long-term issuer rating of Baa3. At the same time, the rating agency upgraded ICBC SB's baseline credit assessment (BCA) to ba3 from b1, its adjusted BCA to baa2 from baa3, and its subordinated debt rating to Baa3 from Ba1. The Counterparty Risk Assessments of Baa2(cr)/Prime-2(cr) were also affirmed. The outlooks on the bank's long-term deposit and issuer ratings remain stable.

The upgrade of the BCA and adjusted BCA reflects the return to profit in 2017 following losses in previous years, which were driven by depressed commodities prices and a relatively high operating cost base.

The upgrade also reflects the steady integration of ICBC SB within the processes and customer base of its 60% owner, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC, A1 stable, baa2).