...Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Negative: In affirming Central Pacific Financial Corp.'s (CPF) ratings, Fitch Ratings believes the bank entered the current pandemic and ensuing financial downturn in a position of modest strength, relative to its current rating, underpinned by a solid deposit franchise in a unique operating environment in Hawaii. However, the Rating Outlook revision to Negative from Stable reflects our view that prolonged shutdowns and losses in tourism could have a lingering effect on CPF's earnings and asset quality. Tourism Disruption to Affect Earnings: While CPF's direct exposure to tourism is limited, the importance of the industry to the state economy indicates that its consumer and commercial borrowers are likely to negatively affected. Fitch expects that, even after the full-scale lockdown of the islands eases, tourist arrivals will remain limited for an extended term. This is likely to drive additional earnings pressure through elevated provisions for credit losses....
