Fitch upgrades BOC’s national rating by two notches to ‘AA+(lka)’

EconomyNext reports that Fitch Ratings changed the national ratings or outlooks of eight Sri Lankan banks after recalibrating its national scale in response to a recent sovereign rating upgrade. EconomyNext says Fitch had upgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating to B- with a Stable Outlook.

EconomyNext reports that People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon each rose two notches, from AA-(lka) to AA+(lka), with Stable Outlooks. Daily Mirror reports the People’s Bank rating placed it ahead of private-sector commercial banks on Fitch’s national scale, attributing that comparison to the bank; Daily Mirror also describes Bank of Ceylon as Sri Lanka’s largest banking institution.

EconomyNext reports that Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s rating rose from AA-(lka) to AA(lka), with a Stable Outlook. It says Nations Trust Bank’s A(lka) rating was affirmed and its outlook changed from Stable to Positive, while Union Bank’s BBB-(lka) rating was affirmed with a Negative Outlook.

EconomyNext reports that Cargills Bank was downgraded from A(lka) to A-(lka), with a Negative Outlook. It also says HDFC’s BB+(lka) rating and State Mortgage & Investment Bank’s BB(lka) rating remained on Rating Watch Positive; ratings for other Sri Lankan banks were unaffected.

EconomyNext explains that national ratings compare issuers’ creditworthiness within a country and are intended to help local investors distinguish levels of risk. It notes that Sri Lankan ratings use the “(lka)” identifier and are not comparable with Fitch’s international scale or other countries’ national scales.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.