Moody's upgrades rating for Central Bank, IOB over capital infusion

Upgrade reflects improved solvency of the banks, following capital infusion by govt. Moody's estimates both banks will achieve a common equity tier-1 (CET1) of more than 8% by March

Global agency Moody’s has upgraded the rating for long-term foreign currency deposits raised by Central Bank of India (CBI) and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) from “Ba3” to “Ba2”, on improvement in their solvency following capital infusion in them by the Government of India.

Moody's has also upgraded their Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) to “b2” from “b3”.

In the case of Bank of India, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Union Bank, Moody's has affirmed their local and foreign currency deposit ratings at Baa3/P-3, Moody’s said in a statement.

The rating upgrade reflects improved solvency of the banks, following the capital infusion from the government. Moody's estimates that both banks will achieve a common equity tier-1 (CET1) of more than 8 per cent by March 2019. This will create a buffer above the regulatory requirement under Basel III of 7.375 per cent, which includes a minimum CET1 requirement of 5.5 per cent and a capital conservation buffer of 1.875 per cent.

For CBI and IOB, which are among the weakest rated PSBs, the rating upgrade reflects the improved solvency following the capital infusion from the government. Moody's estimates that both banks will achieve a common equity tier-1 (CET1) of more than 8 per cent by March 2019. This will create a buffer above the regulatory requirement under Basel III of 7.375 per cent, which includes a minimum CET1 requirement of 5.5 per cent and a capital conservation buffer of 1.875 per cent.

Based on risk-weighted assets (RWA) on December 31, 2018, the CET1 ratios of CBI and IOB will be 9 per cent and 9.7 per cent, respectively, following the latest round of capital infusions.