REG - Royal Bk Scot.Grp. - RBS notes Fitch credit ratings action <Origin Href="QuoteRef">RBS.L</Origin>

NatwestAnnouncement

15/07/2015 18:27

RNS Number : 6983N
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
19 May 2015
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc 
RBS notes credit ratings action by Fitch
19 May 2015
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS") notes the decision by the credit rating agency Fitch to:
 Downgrade the long term rating of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and certain of its affiliates by two notches to BBB+ from A
 Downgrade the short term rating of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and certain of its affiliates to F2 from F1
 Improve its rating outlook of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and certain of its affiliates to Stable from Negative
The rationale for downgrading these ratings is not RBS specific. Instead it relates to Fitch's review of sovereign support for banks globally. Fitch believes legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives have substantially reduced the likelihood of sovereign support for senior creditors of UK banks, in line with developments at the EU level. As a consequence, Fitch has revised RBS's "Support Rating" from '1' to '5'. 
RBS welcomes Fitch's decision to improve its Viability Rating of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and certain of its affiliates by one notch. This reflects Fitch's recognition of the significant progress RBS has made in improving its overall risk profile and capital position. This improvement offsets in part the negative impact of Fitch removing sovereign support, as noted above. 
Table 1, Fitch updated credit ratings:
Entity
Long Term Issuer Default Rating
Outlook / Watch
Short Term Issuer Default Rating
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
BBB+
Stable
F2
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc 
BBB+
Stable
F2
National Westminster Bank plc 
BBB+
Stable
F2
The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V.
BBB+
Stable
F2
RBS International Limited
BBB+
Stable
F2
RBS Securities Inc.
BBB+
Stable
F2
Ulster Bank Limited
BBB+
Stable
F2
Ulster Bank Ireland Limited
BBB
Stable
F2
For further information, please contact:
RBS Investor Relations
Matthew Richardson
Head of Debt Investor Relations
+44 (0) 20 7678 1800

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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