Page 4 - Moodys

Moody's cuts outlook on China's sovereign bonds to negative on rising debt

Moody's lowered its outlook to negative from stable while retaining a long-term rating of A1 on the nation's sovereign bonds, according to a statement

Higher risk weight on unsecured bank loans credit positive: Moody's

The RBI's decision to tighten norms for unsecured personal loans is credit positive because lenders will need to allocate higher capital for such loans, thus improving their loss-absorbing buffers, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. The Reserve Bank last week raised risk weights on unsecured retail loans, credit cards and lending to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) by 25 percentage points. Moody's said unsecured loans have been growing rapidly in the past few years, exposing financial institutions to a potential spike in credit costs in case of sudden economic or interest rate shocks. The tightening of underwriting norms through higher risk-weighted assets is credit positive because lenders will need to allocate higher capitals for such loans improving their loss-absorbing buffers and may dampen their growth appetite, Moody's said in a statement. It said that over the past few years, India's unsecured lending segment has become very competitive, with banks, NBFCs and ..

Domestic demand to sustain India growth in the near term, says Moody's

Economy's strong second-quarter momentum continued in the third quarter, says agency's 'Global Macro Outlook 2024' report

Moody's upgrades Tata Motors' ratings to Ba3; outlook remains positive

It also upgraded Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc's (JLR) CFR to "Ba3" from "B1"

Fuel price hike unlikely despite oil price surge as polls loom: Moody's

Petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to be increased despite firming raw material costs because of upcoming general elections next year, Moody's Investors Service said. Three state-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- which control roughly 90 per cent of the market, have kept petrol and diesel prices on freeze for a record 18 months in a row. This is despite the raw material (crude oil) cost surging last year, leading to heavy losses in first half of 2022-23 fiscal year before easing oil prices propelled them to profitability. International oil prices have firmed up since August, leading to margins of three retailers turning negative again. "High crude oil prices will weaken the profitability of the three state-owned oil marketing companies in India -- IOC, BPCL and HPCL," Moody's said in a report. "The three companies will have limited flexibility to pass on higher raw mate

Rivalry between direct lenders, banks fueling riskier debt deals: Moody's

Private credit firms and banks have been in a tug of war over financing new deals, with direct lenders raising huge amounts of capital to do so

Moody's cuts Chinese property giant Longfor's ratings to cusp of junk

China's property market has suffered a wave of defaults and debt restructurings since mid-2021 which have also left swathes of homes unfinished

Moody's affirms India's Baa3 rating, maintains 'stable' outlook on economy

Moody's expects India's economic growth to outpace all other G20 economies through at least the next two years, driven by domestic demand

Moody's affirms India's sovereign ratings, retains stable economic outlook

India's long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings and the local-currency senior unsecured rating remains at Baa3, while the other short-term local-currency rating stands at P-3, it said

Moody's cuts 10 US banks on back of mounting funding costs, office exposure

"Collectively, these three developments have lowered the credit profile of a number of US banks, though not all banks equally," it wrote in some of the assessments

Moody's warns 'highly uncertain' funding prospects for Pak until elections

Moody's has warned that Pakistan's ability to secure loans from bilateral and multilateral partners will be severely constrained until new programme is negotiated with International Monetary Fund

India pitches for a rating upgrade with Moody's, questions methodology

A higher rating for India would mean the nation is less riskier, translating into lower interest rates on borrowings

India's debt burden will be stable or decline slightly, says Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said the key determinant of India's fiscal strength and the credit profile will be debt affordability and projected a downward trend for the debt burden. "As long as nominal GDP growth holds, India's debt burden will be stable or decline slightly," Moody's said. In a report, it said India's fast-growing GDP, which is estimated to average 11 per cent in nominal terms, is a key driver of the projections of a downward trend in the country's debt burden. "As in the past, the key determinant of fiscal strength and the credit profile will be debt affordability and in particular the proportion of revenue absorbed by interest payments," Moody's said. India has a relatively high level of general government debt, estimated at around 81.8 per cent of GDP for 2022-23, compared with the Baa-rated median of around 56 per cent. The country also has a low debt affordability, in terms of general government interest payments as a percentage of revenues, which f

Pak may fail to restart $6.7 bn bailout, default on sovereign debt: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service has warned that Pakistan is at an increased risk of failing to restart its $6.7 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

FinMin to meet Moody's on June 16, pitch for sovereign rating upgrade

The Finance Ministry officials will showcase India's strong economic fundamentals and pitch for a sovereign rating upgrade in a meeting with US-based Moody's on June 16. Moody's Investors Service has a 'Baa3' sovereign credit rating on India, with a stable outlook. 'Baa3' is the lowest investment grade rating. Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran and other senior officials from key ministries would talk about the ongoing economic reforms, government thrust on infrastructure development and forex reserves nearing USD 600 billion, sources said. The government had largely met its fiscal objectives over the past two years. The fiscal deficit, which is the difference between government expenditure and revenue, narrowed to 6.4 per cent of GDP in 2022-23 fiscal, from 6.7 per cent of GDP in 2021-22 fiscal. In the current fiscal, the deficit is budgeted at 5.9 per cent of GDP. As per the fiscal consolidation roadmap, the government intends to br

Moody's sees India's GDP expanding 6-6.3% in Q1, flags fiscal slippage risk

Moody's on Sunday said the Indian economy is expected to clock a 6-6.3 per cent growth in June quarter, and flagged risks of fiscal slippage arising from weaker-than-expected government revenues in the current fiscal. Moody's growth estimate is lower than the 8 per cent projection for the first quarter made by the Reserve Bank last week. In an interview with PTI, Moody's Investors Service Associate Managing Director Gene Fang said India has a relatively high level of general government debt at around 81.8 per cent of GDP for 2022-23, and low debt affordability. India, he said, has a high growth potential and its credit strengths include a stable domestic financing base for government debt, as well as a sound external position. "We expect India's growth to come in around 6-6.3 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which remains relatively flat from the 6.1 per cent recorded in the final quarter of fiscal 2022-23," Fang said. While household demand is likely to s

Moody's upgrades rating outlook on Tata Motors to positive from stable

Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it has upgraded its rating outlook on Tata Motors to positive from stable. Moody's has also affirmed the company's B1 corporate family rating (CFR) and its B1 senior unsecured ratings. "The rating affirmation and outlook change to positive reflect our expectation that the substantial improvement in Tata Motor's credit profile over the past few quarters will sustain over the next 12-18 months," Moody's Senior Vice President Kaustubh Chaubal said in a statement. Steadily growing volumes and profitability will support the company's earnings and free cash flow expansion, enabling debt reduction even as its capital expenditure stays elevated, he added. Tata Motors is pursuing a net-zero automotive debt target by March 2025. Moody's said it estimates that the auto major will reduce its gross debt by almost 40 per cent by March 2024 from March 2022 levels, having already reduced debt by a quarter at March-end 2023. Moody's said it expects a susta

GDP over $3.5 trn in 2022, India fastest-growing G20 economy: Moody's

In a research report, the US-based rating agency said bureaucracy could slow approval processes in obtaining licences and setting up businesses, prolonging project gestation

Their valuations lowest in a decade, top Pak firms join share buyback trend

Pakistan took the crown for Asia's fastest inflation from Sri Lanka as a weaker currency and rising food and energy costs drove price gains to a record in April

SME loan defaults to rise for NBFCs in the coming quarters: Moody's

Hardening interest rates, cost pressures make SMEs vulnerable