Research Update: AXA Bank Belgium Long-Term Rating Remains On CreditWatch Negative; Short-Term Rating Affirmed

On April 23, 2020, we revised our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment economic risk trend to negative for Belgium as a result of the severe economic recession we expect from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our long-term rating on AXA Bank Belgium (ABB) has been on CreditWatch negative since Oct. 30, 2019, following AXA's announcement that it would sell ABB to Crelan, a Belgium-based mutual banking group. We are maintaining our CreditWatch negative on the 'A-' long-term rating, but we acknowledge that downside risk from the COVID-19 pandemic could make the transaction more complex and Crelan and ABB could face more stress than anticipated at the time of the initial placement. We are also affirming the 'A-2' short-term rating. The CreditWatch negative

...- On April 23, 2020, we revised our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment economic risk trend to negative for Belgium as a result of the severe economic recession we expect from the COVID-19 pandemic. - Our long-term rating on AXA Bank Belgium (ABB) has been on CreditWatch negative since Oct. 30, 2019, following AXA's announcement that it would sell ABB to Crelan, a Belgium-based mutual banking group. - We are maintaining our CreditWatch negative on the 'A-' long-term rating, but we acknowledge that downside risk from the COVID-19 pandemic could make the transaction more complex and Crelan and ABB could face more stress than anticipated at the time of the initial placement. - We are also affirming the 'A-2' short-term rating. - The CreditWatch negative reflects the possibility of a downgrade when the deal officially closes, at which time we will remove any remaining rating support from AXA Group, assess the creditworthiness of the consolidated Crelan/ABB, and consider if additional loss-absorbing...

Research Update