(The following statement was released by the rating agency)
Fitch Ratings-London-September 11:
Fitch Ratings has assigned Access Bank Plc's (Access: B/Stable) issue of NGN30
billion Tier 2 subordinated bonds a final National Long-Term Rating of
'A(nga)'.The assignment of a final rating follows the receipt of final documents
conforming to information already received. The final rating is in line with the
expected rating assigned on 6 June 2019.
Key Rating Drivers
The seven-year 15.5% fixed rate Nigerian naira bonds represent a subordinated
unsecured obligation of Access and rank pari passu with the claims of all other
subordinated debt. There are no contractual going-concern features such as
coupon deferral/omission and write-down or conversion ahead of non-viability.
The bonds are rated one notch below Access's 'A+(nga)' National Long-Term
Rating. This reflects higher loss-severity relative to senior unsecured
instruments, which is due to their subordinated status. No additional notching
has been ascribed for non-performance risk, as Fitch regards this to be minimal
relative to that captured in Access's National Long-Term Rating.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
The bonds' ratings are sensitive to changes in Access's National Long-Term
Rating, which reflects the bank's creditworthiness relative to other Nigerian
issuers.
ESG Considerations
Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit
relevance is a score of 3. ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal
credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or to the way in which
they are being managed by the entity.For more information on our ESG Relevance
Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/esg.
Access Bank Plc
----subordinated; National Long Term Rating; New Rating; A(nga)
Contacts:
Primary Rating Analyst
Janine Dow,
Senior Director
+44 20 3530 1464
Fitch Ratings Ltd
30 North Colonnade, Canary Wharf
London E14 5GN
Secondary Rating Analyst
Tim Slater,
Senior Analyst
+44 20 3530 1791
Committee Chairperson
Christian Scarafia,
Senior Director
+44 20 3530 1012
Media Relations: Louisa Williams, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 2452, Email:
louisa.williams@thefitchgroup.com.
Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com
Applicable Criteria
Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 12 Oct 2018)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10044408
National Scale Ratings Criteria (pub. 18 Jul 2018)
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10038626
Additional Disclosures
Solicitation Status
https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10088987#solicitation
Endorsement Policy
https://www.fitchratings.com/regulatory
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