Fitch affirms Standard Chartered
Fitch Ratings Lanka has affirmed Standard Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka
Branch's (SCBSL) National Long-Term rating at 'AAA(lka)'.
The outlook is stable.
SCBSL's rating is at the highest end of the National Rating scale and
reflects the financial strength of its head office, Standard Chartered
Bank PLC (SCB). The rating is tied to SCB's Issuer Default Rating (IDR)
of 'AA-'/Negative, given SCBSL's legal status as a branch of SCB and
that SCBSL is part of the legal entity that is SCB. SCB's IDR is higher
than Sri Lanka's Long-Term
Foreign Currency IDR of 'BB-'/Stable. Fitch believes that timely
support would be available from SCB, if required.
However, such support would be subject to any regulatory restrictions
or delays in remitting money into Sri Lanka, none of which is envisaged
at the moment.
The affirmation of SCBSL's rating follows the Outlook revision on
SCB's IDR to Negative from stable on March 5 2012, and the simultaneous
affirmation of its IDR at 'AA-' (see the rating action commentary on
www.fitchratings.com ).
Operating in Sri Lanka since 1892, SCBSL is Sri Lanka's
second-largest foreign bank branch and has a network of 10 branches. |