Individual Ratings are assigned only to banks. These ratings, which are internationally comparable, attempt to assess how a bank would be viewed if it were entirely independent and could not rely on external support. These ratings are designed to assess a bank's exposure to, appetite for, and management of risk, and thus represent our view on the likelihood that it would run into significant difficulties such that it would require support.
The principal factors we analyze to evaluate the bank and determine these ratings include profitability and balance sheet integrity (including capitalization), franchise, management, operating environment, and prospects. Finally, consistency is an important consideration, as is a bank's size (in terms of equity capital) and diversification (in terms of involvement in a variety of activities in different economic and geographical sectors).
A denotes:
A very strong bank. Characteristics may include outstanding profitability and balance sheet integrity, franchise, management, operating environment or prospects.
B denotes:
A strong bank. There are no major concerns regarding the bank. Characteristics may include strong profitability and balance sheet integrity, franchise, management, operating environment or prospects.
C denotes:
An adequate bank, which, however, possesses one or more troublesome aspects. There may be some concerns regarding its profitability and balance sheet integrity, franchise, management, operating environment or prospects.
D denotes:
A bank, which has weaknesses of internal and/or external origin. There are concerns regarding its profitability and balance sheet integrity, franchise, management, operating environment or prospects. Banks in emerging markets are necessarily faced with a greater number of potential deficiencies of external origin.
E denotes:
A bank with very serious problems, which either requires or is likely to require external support.
F denotes:
A bank that has either defaulted or, in Fitch’s opinion, would have defaulted if it had not received external support. Examples of such support include state or local government support, (deposit) insurance funds; acquisition by some other corporate entity or an injection of new funds from its shareholders or equivalent.
Notes:
Gradations may be used among the five ratings: i.e. A/B, B/C, C/D, and D/E.
(s)
An Individual rating may be followed by the suffix (s), denoting that it is largely based on public information, though supplemented by data obtained from the rated entity.
