Fitch, one of the leading global rating agencies, changed the ratings of Nova KBM from BBB-/F3 to BB-/B.
The list of rating actions is as follows:
- Long-term foreign currency IDR: downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'BB-'
- Short-term foreign currency IDR: downgraded to 'B' from 'F3'
- Viability Rating: downgraded to 'ccc' from 'b-'
- Support Rating: downgraded to '3' from '2'
- Support Rating Floor: downgraded to 'BB-' from 'BBB-'
- Hybrid capital instrument: downgraded to 'C' from 'CC'
The downgrade reflects continuing delays in the crystallisation and implementation of a clear and decisive solution for the problems in the Slovenian banking sector as a whole. This was cited as a rating driver when the banks’ ratings were last reviewed in August 2012. Since then, a solution has become more pressing because of further deterioration in asset quality at Nova KBM and across the broader sector, and the continuing poor economic outlook for the country. These factors, combined, have given rise to greater uncertainty, than previously, on support for Nova KBM, to the extent the certainty of support is no longer consistent with investment grade ratings.
Fitch’s expectation remains that sovereign support for Nova KBM will ultimately be forthcoming, and that the resolution of the Bank will not involve losses for senior creditors. This view is based primarily on the affordability of support for the sovereign, the track record of incremental capital support for the Bank during 2011 - Q1 2013, and the agency’s understanding that a bail in of senior creditors is currently not on the agenda of the Slovenian authorities. The ratings also take account of the Bank’s systemic importance and majority state ownership.
