Bangkok--17 Feb--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings has assigned Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited’s (BAY; AAA(tha)/Stable) upcoming issue of senior unsecured bonds National Long-Term Ratings of ‘AAA(tha)’.
The bonds will have maturities of two and/or three years, and total issue size will be up to THB8bn. The proceeds of the issue will be used for refinancing and/or general corporate purposes.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
The notes are rated at the same level as BAY’s National Long-Term Rating, as they represent unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the bank.
BAY’s ratings are driven by the bank’s status as a strategically-important subsidiary of its 76.9% shareholder, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU; A/Stable). BAY is the fifth-largest commercial bank in Thailand, and in January 2015, it completed integration with BTMU’s Bangkok Branch.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Any changes in BAY’s National Long-Term Rating would have a similar impact on the issue rating.
For more details on ratings on Bank of Ayudhya, refer to the rating action commentary “Fitch Affirms Thai Mid-Sized Banks; Revises Thanachart Bank's Outlook to Stable” dated 3 February 2015, at www.fitchratings.com.
BAY's full set of ratings are as follows:
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating: 'A-'; Outlook Stable
Short-Term Issuer Default Rating : 'F2'
Viability Rating: 'bbb'
Support Rating: '1'
National Long-Term Rating: 'AAA(tha)'; Outlook Stable
National Short-Term Rating: 'F1+(tha)'
National long-term senior unsecured debt: 'AAA(tha)'
National short-term senior unsecured debt: 'F1+(tha)'
Legacy Basel II subordinated debt: 'AA+(tha)'