Moody’s Places Access Bank, Diamond Bank Ratings Under Review

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service Ltd. placed on review for downgrade Access Bank Plc’s ratings and an upgrade for Diamond Bank Plc’s ratings.

The reviews are on Access Bank’s foreign-currency deposit ratings and long-term counter-party risk rating and assessment, among others, Moody’s said Tuesday in an emailed statement. Some of the ratings under review for an upgrade at Diamond include its Caa1 long-term deposit ratings and its Caa3 baseline credit assessment, it said.

The reviews follow approval of their planned merger by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 18, after a preliminary approval of the transaction by the Central Bank of Nigeria last month.

“Access’s ratings are placed on review for downgrade to reflect the potential negative pressures on its capital and asset risk metrics as a result of the merger, while Diamond’s review for upgrade reflects the expected convergence of its creditworthiness and ratings with those of Access upon completion of the transaction,” according to the statement.

Source: Bloomberg Business News