Bangkok--16 Jan--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings-Bangkok-16 January 2018: Fitch Ratings has assigned KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited's (KBank; BBB+/Stable/bbb+) USD400 million senior unsecured notes due in July 2023 a final rating of 'BBB+'. The notes were issued by KBank's Hong Kong branch under its USD2.5 billion Euro medium-term note (EMTN) programme, which was affirmed at 'BBB+' on 9 May 2017.
The assignment of the final rating follows the receipt of final documents conforming to the information already received. The final rating is the same as the expected rating assigned on 9 January 2018.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
The senior notes are rated at the same level as KBank's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BBB+', as they represent its unsecured and unsubordinated obligations.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
The rating of the proposed senior unsecured notes would be directly affected by any changes in KBank's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR, which in turn is underpinned by its Viability Rating of 'bbb+'.
For further details on KBank's key rating drivers and rating sensitivities, refer to the rating action commentary Fitch Affirms Thailand's Four Largest Commercial Banks, dated 9 May 2017.