Fitch Affirms HSBC Sri Lanka at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a stable outlook
HSBC Sri Lanka rating affirmed by Fitch
Fitch Ratings Lanka has affirmed HSBC Sri Lanka Branch’s National Long-Term rating at ‘AAA(lka)’.
The Outlook is Stable.
Fitch says, the rating reflects the financial strength of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited; Long-Term Issuer Default rating: ‘AA’/Negative).
The agency says, given that HSBC Sri Lanka is a branch of HKB and is part of the same legal entity as HKB, it believes that support from HKB would be forthcoming if required, subject to any regulatory constraints on remitting money into Sri Lanka.
It observes that the affirmation of the rating follows the Outlook revision on HKB’s IDR to Negative from Stable on 1 March 2012, and the simultaneous affirmation of its Support Rating Floor at ‘A-’.
According to the rating firm, HKB continues to be rated above Sri Lanka’s sovereign IDR of ‘BB-’/Stable.
Established in 1892, HSBCSL is Sri Lanka’s largest foreign bank branch.
