Fitch Ratings Lanka has affirmed Standard Chartered Bank, Sri Lanka Branch’s (SCBSL) National Long-Term Rating at ‘AAA(lka)’. The Outlook is Stable.
SCBSL’s rating reflects the credit profile and financial strength of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB; Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at A+/Stable and Viability Rating at a).
The rating is linked with SCB’s IDR to reflect SCBSL’s legal status as a branch of SCB, which makes it part of the same legal entity.
It also reflects the relatively small size of the branch (around 0.15% of the total assets of SCB at end-2016), and therefore any support would not be material to the head office.
SCB’s rating is higher than Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local- and Foreign-Currency IDRs of ‘B+’/Stable’; and as a result, SCBSL’s rating is at the highest end of the National Rating scale for Sri Lanka.
Fitch believes that support from SCB would be forthcoming if required, subject to any regulatory constraints on remitting money into Sri Lanka.
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