Standard & Poor’s has revised the ratings of banks Santander Totta, BPI and BCP upwards, while maintaining the outlook (expectations) for the development of the debt quality of the three financial institutions as “stable”.
In addition, it reiterated Haitong Bank’s rating – which resulted from the 2015 sale of Bank Espirito Santo Investments (BESI), part of BES Group, to China’s Haitong Group – and maintained its ‘stable’ outlook.
The decision comes after the rating agency upgraded Portugal’s sovereign debt rating by one level on September 9, from BBB to BBB+, which corresponds to three levels above “junk” – the third to last level of a good investment grade – justified by the strong results from Where budget and growth. The Republic’s outlook remained “stable”.
According to S&P, “Portuguese banks have made significant progress in rebalancing their financing profiles, which has made them less risky.”
Regarding Banco Santander Totta and BPI, the agency raised the ratings by one level, to BBB+, thus placing it on the same level as Portugal.
On the other hand, BCP has also seen its rating rise by one level, but it is still not enough to leave the level of speculative investment. It has gone from BB to BB+, so it is only one step away from entering the category of good investment.
For its part, Haitong Bank reaffirmed its long-term debt rating at BB, which corresponds to the second level of “junk” – two levels of exit from “junk”.
