...Nedbank Group Limited (NBG) and Nedbank Limited's (NBL) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are driven by their standalone creditworthiness, as expressed by the Viability Ratings (VRs) of `bb-'. The VRs reflect the group's solid domestic franchise supporting good profitability, comfortable capital buffers and stable funding and liquidity. The assigned VRs are one notch below the `bb' implied VRs due to the following constraint: operating environment/sovereign rating. This underlines the concentration of activities in South Africa (end-2024: 90% of NBG's total assets) and high sovereign-related exposure relative to equity (3x for NBL). NBG and NBL's National Ratings reflect their creditworthiness in local currency relative to that of other South African issuers. They are in line with all other rated banks in the country. VRs Equalised with Group VR: NBG is a non-operating bank holding company (BHC). Its VR is equalised with the group VR, reflecting the consolidated risk assessment of the group....
