October 23 (SeeNews) - Fitch Ratings said on Friday it has taken various rating actions on five Greek banks and downgraded government guaranteed debt following the agency's downgrade of Greece's sovereign ratings on October 22.
Most of the banks have presence in Bulgaria.
Fitch issued the following statement:
"Fitch Ratings-Barcelona/London-23 October 2009: Fitch Ratings has today taken various rating actions on five Greek banks and downgraded government guaranteed debt following the agency's downgrade of Greece's (the Hellenic Republic) sovereign ratings on 22 October. A full rating breakdown is provided below.
The agency has downgraded Agricultural Bank of Greece's (ATEbank) Long-term and Short-term IDRs to 'BBB' from 'BBB+' and 'F3' from 'F2', respectively. The Outlook on the Long-term IDR remains Negative, reflecting the Negative Outlook on the Greek sovereign. ATEbank's IDRs, Support Rating and Support Rating Floor are based on sovereign support as the bank is majority-owned by the Greek state.
Fitch has simultaneously downgraded the Support Rating Floors of Greece's four largest commercial banks, National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Efg Eurobank Ergasias and Piraeus Bank, by one notch as detailed below. Fitch's believes that the Greek government's propensity to support banks remains unchanged, but that its ability to do so has been reduced as reflected in the downgrade of Greece's Long-term IDR to 'A-'. The four banks' Long-term IDRs remain based on their individual financial strength, as expressed by Fitch's Individual Rating, and remain unaffected by the downgrade of the Greek sovereign.
Fitch has also downgraded the Long-term ratings assigned to various programmes and senior notes issued by Greek banks, that are guaranteed by the Hellenic Republic, to 'A-' from 'A'. The programmes and notes are guaranteed under the Greek government guarantee scheme. This rating action affects EFG Eurobank Ergasias's EUR5bn programme for guaranteed issues and Alpha Bank's EUR1bn guaranteed senior notes (XS0423588861) and EUR30bn programme for guaranteed issues.
The ratings of the Greek banks affected by the sovereign rating action are as follows:
ATEBank
- Long-term IDR downgraded to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'; Negative Outlook
- Short-term IDR downgraded to 'F3' from 'F2'
- Individual Rating affirmed at 'C/D'
- Support Rating affirmed at '2'
- Support Rating Floor downgraded to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'
National Bank of Greece
- Long-term IDR affirmed at 'A-'; Negative Outlook
- Short-term IDR affirmed at 'F2'
- Individual Rating affirmed at 'B/C'
- Support Rating affirmed at '2'
- Support Rating Floor downgraded to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'
Efg Eurobank Ergasias
- Long-term IDR affirmed at 'A-'; Negative Outlook
- Short-term IDR affirmed at 'F2'
- Individual Rating affirmed at 'B/C'
- Support Rating affirmed at '2'
- Support Rating Floor downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'BBB'
EUR5bn programme for Greek State guaranteed issues: Long-term rating downgraded to 'A-' from 'A'; Short-term rating affirmed at 'F1'
EUR500m Greek State guaranteed senior notes XS0412964024 affirmed at 'F1'
Alpha Bank
- Long-term IDR affirmed at 'A-'; Negative Outlook
- Short-term IDR affirmed at 'F2'
- Individual Rating affirmed at 'B/C'
- Support rating affirmed at '2'
- Support Rating Floor downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'BBB'
EUR1bn Greek State guaranteed senior notes (XS0423588861): Long-term rating downgraded to 'A-' from 'A'
EUR500m Greek State guaranteed senior notes: XS0426739438 affirmed at 'F1'
EUR30bn programme for Greek State guaranteed issues: Long-term rating downgraded to 'A-' from 'A'; Short-term rating affirmed at 'F1'
Piraeus Bank
- Long-term IDR affirmed at 'A-'; Negative Outlook
- Short-term IDR affirmed at 'F2'
- Individual Rating affirmed at 'B/C'
- Support rating affirmed at '2'
- Support Rating Floor downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'BBB'
In Fitch's rating criteria, a bank's standalone risk is reflected in Fitch's Individual ratings and the prospect of external support is reflected in Fitch's Support ratings. Collectively these ratings drive Fitch's Long- and Short-term IDRs."