Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Zenith Bank Plc and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody’s reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody’s practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.
Key rating considerations are summarized below.
Zenith Bank Plc’s (Zenith) B2 long-term local currency deposit rating is in line with the bank’s b2 baseline credit assessment (BCA).
Zenith’s b2 BCA reflects the bank’s good capitalization and profitability, which combined, provide a good buffer to withstand expected asset quality deterioration. The ratings also reflect the bank’s significant liquidity buffers and its deposit funded balance sheet that benefits from its robust franchise. These strengths are balanced against Nigeria’s difficult operating environment which is worsened by the depressed oil prices and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the bank’s relatively high proportion of confidence-sensitive corporate deposits to total deposits.