According to a statement released by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), BCP announced that the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded the bank’s long-term, senior unsecured debt rating from BBB to BBB+ following an upgrade of the long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from BBB to BBB+ and the Viability Rating (VR) from bbb to bbb+, while maintaining a positive outlook.
The bank explained that this rating improvement reflects BCP’s consistent progress in reducing balance sheet risks, the resilience of its business model, manifested in the structural improvement of core profitability and internal capital generation.
BCP noted that Fitch highlighted positive developments in reducing the Non-Performing Exposure (NPE) ratio and legal costs associated with Swiss franc-denominated mortgage loans in its Polish operations.
The bank emphasized that Fitch also considered the upgrade of the Portuguese operational environment from bbb+ to a-, which is expected to create growth opportunities for BCP due to its strong domestic franchise.
Additionally, the bank pointed out that the positive outlook is based on Fitch Ratings’ view of BCP’s business model, profitability, and capital generation capacity, anticipating that these areas will continue to evolve favorably with the successful execution of the strategic plan and the resolution of legacy risks related to foreign currency-denominated mortgages in its Polish operations.
Fitch Ratings also upgraded the ratings for BCP’s deposits from BBB+ to A-, and Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments to BB and BBB-, respectively, BCP stated.
