Bangkok--6 Jul--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited has affirmed TISCO Bank Public Company Limited’s (TISCOB) and TISCO Financial Group Public Company Limited’s (TISCO) National ratings and simultaneously withdrawn them. This is because the ratings are no longer considered by the agency to be relevant to its coverage. Fitch will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage of these issuers.
TISCO Bank Public Company Limited:
- National Long-term rating affirmed at ‘A(tha)’;Outlook Stable; rating withdrawn
- National Short-term rating affirmed at ‘F1(tha)’; rating withdrawn
- National Long-term senior unsecured debt affirmed at ‘A(tha)’; rating withdrawn
- National Long-term subordinated unsecured debt affirmed at ‘A-(tha)’; rating withdrawn
TISCO Financial Group Public Company Limited:
- National Long-term rating affirmed at ‘A-(tha)’; Outlook Stable; rating withdrawn
- National Short-term rating affirmed at ‘F2(tha)’; rating withdrawn
TISCOB’s ratings take into consideration its strong profitability and asset quality, as well as Fitch’s expectations that it will maintain its current capitalisation. The ratings are constrained by its weaker funding and liquidity position compared with larger peers.
TISCO’s ratings reflect its holding company status, which is structurally subordinated to its banking subsidiary, TISCOB, as the former relies mainly on dividend payments from TISCOB.
TISCO is TISCOB’s group holding company. Set up in 2008, it holds a 99.5% stake in TISCOB and 100% stakes in its securities, asset management and leasing subsidiaries. TISCOB was established in 1969 as a finance company and changed its status to that of a commercial bank in July 2005. It has a strong niche position in the car-hire-purchase business.
Disclosure: TISCO Asset Management Company Limited (of which TISCO Financial Group Public Company Limited holds 100%) owns 10% of the shares in Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited. No shareholder, other than Fitch Ratings Limited of the UK, is involved in the day-to-day operation of, or credit rating reviews undertaken by, Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited.
Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated ‘AAA’ and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as ‘AAA(tha)’ for National ratings in Thailand. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com. TISCOB and TISCO did not participate in the rating process, or provide additional information, beyond the issuer's available public disclosure.
Applicable criteria, "Global Financial Institutions Criteria" dated 16 August 2010; "Short-Term Ratings Criteria for Corporate Finance" dated 2 November 2010; “National Ratings Criteria” dated 19 January 2011; "Bank Holding Companies" dated 30 December 2009; are available on www.fitchratings.com.
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