INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fitch Ratings has devalued the National Long-Term Ratings of 10 Sri Lankan banks following the recent sovereign downgrade and recalibration
of the firms Sri Lankan national score scale.The recalibration is to reflect modifications in the relative credit reliability among Sri
Lankan issuers following Fitchs downgrade of Sri Lankas Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to CC from CCC/ Under Criteria
Observation on 1 December 2022
The rating agency stated it normally does not assign Outlooks or use modifiers to sovereigns with a ranking of CCC+ or below.National scale
ratings are a danger ranking of companies in a specific market developed to assist regional financiers differentiate risk
Sri Lankas nationwide scale ratings are represented by the special identifier ( lka)
Fitch includes this identifier to reflect the unique nature of the Sri Lankan nationwide scale.National scales are not equivalent with
Fitchs global ranking scales or with other nations national ranking scales.The National Ratings of the Sri Lankan banks consider their
credit reliability relative to other providers in the country
The recalibration of the Sri Lankan National Rating scale has actually resulted in downgrades of the National Long-Term Ratings of the
following banks:- Bank of Ceylon .- Peoples Bank .- Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC .- Hatton National Bank
PLC .- Sampath Bank PLC .- Cargills Bank Limited .- DFCC Bank PLC .- National Development Bank
PLC .- Seylan Bank PLC .
- Nations Trust Bank PLCMeanwhile, other Sri Lankan banks nationwide ratings, which are not
mentioned in this commentary, have not been affected by the recalibration exercise.
