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MESSAGE (ENGLISH VERSION) | |
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Current report no.3/2009
Fitch Changes Bank Zachodni WBK’s Outlook to Negative; Downgrades
Support to ‘3’.
Fitch Ratings-London/Warsaw-13 February 2009: Fitch Ratings has today
revised Poland-based Bank Zachodni WBK's (BZ WBK) Outlook to Negative
from Stable. The Support Rating was downgraded to '3' from '2'. These
rating actions follow yesterday’s downgrade of its controlling
shareholder, Allied Irish Banks’ (AIB) Individual rating to 'D' from 'C'.
BZ WBK’s other ratings are affirmed at Long-term Issuer Default (IDR)
'BBB+', Short-term IDR 'F2' and Individual 'C'. The agency has
simultaneously assigned a Support Rating Floor of 'BB'.
The revision of the Outlook reflects that BZ WBK’s Long-term IDR is no
longer driven by support from AIB. It also reflects the deterioration in
the operating environment in Poland, which is likely to result in
pressures on revenue and increased impairment charges over the
medium-term, reducing BZ WBK’s financial flexibility. BZ WBK's IDRs are
now based on the bank’s standalone strength as indicated by its
Individual rating of 'C'.
The downgrade of BZ WBK's Support Rating reflects AIB’s weaker
likelihood to provide support as indicated by the parent’s 'D'
Individual rating. The rating now reflects Fitch’s view of moderate
probability of support that could be available for BZ WBK from the
Polish state in case of need.
BZ WBK is Poland's fifth-largest bank with a 5% share of sector assets.
The bank operates 504 branches and had 9,717 full-time employees at
end-June 2008.
AIB is a large bank in Ireland with EUR10.7bn of equity and EUR183bn of
assets at end-June 2008. AIB acquired a total of 60.1% in WBK between
1995 and 1996. In 1999, AIB acquired 80% of Bank Zachodni SA from the
Polish State Treasury, and in 2001 merged it with WBK to create BZ WBK,
in which AIB currently has a 70.5% stake.
For more details on AIB’s downgrade, please see the 12 February 2009
commentary “Fitch Downgrades Individual Ratings of Two Irish Banks,
Affirms IDRs” available on www.fitchratings.com.
Contact: Artur Szeski, Warsaw, Tel: +48 22 338 6292; Mark Young, London,
+44 (0) 20 7417 4268.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are
available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published
ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all
times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest,
affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and
procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this
site.
Legal basis:
§clause 1 item 26 of the Ordinance of the Monistry of Finance, dated 19
october 2005, with regard to current and periodic informations sent by
issuers of securities
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