Standard & Poor's upgrades Bankinter's credit rating to 'investment grade'
The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's today upgraded Bankinter's long term credit rating from "BB+" to "BBB-", and upgraded its short-term issue credit rating from "B" to "A-3", placing it in the "investment grade" category. The outlook is considered to be "stable".
Standard & Poor's based this decision on the environment of correcting economic imbalances, a trend towards stabilisation of the property market, and a return to growth in Spain's economy, with a 2% increase in GDP forecast between 2015 and 2017. This decision will reduce the need for provisioning by banks, which should reach "normal" levels at the end of 2016.
In S&P's opinion, the economic risks faced by the Spanish banking system are moderating.
In this regard, Bankinter's capital position will continue to improve in the next 18 to 24 months, due to a sustained improvement in revenue. The US agency based its evaluation of Bankinter on the expectation that the company will be able to maintain its high level of solvency thanks to its capacity to keep generating capital, backed by good progress in its strategic private banking business, asset management and insurance, while simultaneously increasing the quality of its assets.
Therefore, the agency has raised Bankinter's Capital & Earnings score from "moderate" to "adequate".
Ultimately, Bankinter's improved rating by Standard & Poor's is yet another sign of Bankinter's improvement in terms of solvency and asset quality, as well as of its capacity to continue to generate profits through its usual business dealings. Furthermore, it attests to the good results obtained by Bankinter in recent European stress tests, in which it was named the most solvent listed Spanish bank.