Fitch Affirms Stanbic IBTC Bank at 'AAA(nga)'

(The following statement was released by the rating agency)
Fitch Ratings-London-02 October 2020:
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (Stanbic IBTC Bank) and its
holding company, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC (Stanbic IBTC), at National
Long-Term 'AAA(nga)' and National Short-Term 'F1+(nga)'. A full list of rating
actions is below.
Key Rating Drivers
The ratings of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Stanbic IBTC are based on potential
support from their ultimate parent, South Africa's Standard Bank Group Limited
(SBG; BB/Negative), which owns 67% of Stanbic IBTC (which in turn owns 100% of
Stanbic IBTC Bank).

The ratings reflect SBG's ability to support Stanbic IBTC Bank and Stanbic
IBTC and the group's willingness to do so. The ability to support considers
SBG's 'BB' Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and Nigeria's Country Ceiling
of 'B'. Fitch's view of SBG's willingness to support, if required, considers
Stanbic IBTC Bank's and Stanbic IBTC's important role in the group as SBG's
main operations in west Africa, the ownership size, and high operational
integration.

Stanbic IBTC is the holding company for SBG's Nigerian operations. Its main
operating entity is Stanbic IBTC Bank, a mid-tier commercial bank, which
represented 96% of the holding company's consolidated assets at end-2019.
Fitch believes that support from SBG, if needed, would extend equally to the
bank and the holding company.

Both entities are highly integrated with SBG's risk-management framework. High
levels of operational and strategic integration with SBG provide significant
competitive advantages relative to peers, including connectivity to the SBG
network and the ability to serve large domestic and multinational companies.
Both entities also benefit from intra-group liquidity support and access to
wider wholesale funding sources.

SENIOR DEBT

The National Long-Term Ratings on Stanbic IBTC Bank's NGN30 billion senior
unsecured notes and the National Long- and Short-Term Ratings on the NGN150
billion structured note programme for senior unsecured debt are in line with
the bank's issuer ratings.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating
action/upgrade:

A rating upgrade is not possible as Stanbic IBTC Bank's and Stanbic IBTC's
National Long-Term Ratings are the highest possible ratings at 'AAA(nga)' on
Fitch's rating scale.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating
action/downgrade:

Stanbic IBTC Bank's and Stanbic IBTC's National Ratings could withstand a
downgrade of up to two notches of SBG's 'BB' Long-Term IDR before they would
be affected. Downside risk to the ratings could also stem from a decline in
SBG's willingness to provide support, or from a change in SBG's stake,
resulting in a loss of control.

The ratings on the senior notes and programme are sensitive to changes in
Stanbic's IBTC Bank's National Long-and Short-Term Ratings.
REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING The
principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the
Applicable Criteria.
Public Ratings with Credit Linkage to other ratings
The ratings of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Stanbic IBTC are linked to the ratings of
SBG.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC; National Long Term Rating; Affirmed; AAA(nga)
; National Short Term Rating; Affirmed; F1+(nga)
Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC; National Long Term Rating; Affirmed; AAA(nga)
; National Short Term Rating; Affirmed; F1+(nga)
----senior unsecured; National Long Term Rating; Affirmed; AAA(nga)
----senior unsecured; National Short Term Rating; Affirmed; F1+(nga)

Contacts:
Primary Rating Analyst
Mahin Dissanayake,
Senior Director
+44 20 3530 1618
Fitch Ratings Ltd
30 North Colonnade, Canary Wharf
London E14 5GN

Secondary Rating Analyst
Kurt Boere,
Senior Analyst
+44 20 3530 2707

Committee Chairperson
Olga Ignatieva,
Senior Director
+7 495 956 6906

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. 28 Feb 2020) (including rating assumption
sensitivity) (https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10110041)
National Scale Rating Criteria (pub. 08 Jun 2020)
(https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10121358)

Additional Disclosures
Solicitation Status
(https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10138426#solicitation)
Endorsement Status
(https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10138426#endorsement_status)
Endorsement Policy
(https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10138426#endorsement-policy)

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