Research Update: Banco Agricola S.A 'B-/B' Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Stable; El Salvador's BICRA Revised To Group '8' From '10'

On December 28, 2018, S&P Global Ratings revised the sovereign credit ratings on El Salvador to 'B-/B' from 'CCC+/C' after El Salvador's Congress approved the refinancing of the Eurobond due in December 2019, which gives certainty about the government's ability and willingness to comply with future amortizations on external debt. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we're improving our economic risk (to '9' from '10') and industry risk scores (to '7' from '8'), reflecting the Salvadoran government's expected ability and willingness to comply with future amortization on external debt. Moreover, given that the sovereign is no longer under financial distress, we perceive less pressure for system-wide funding. As a result, we're revising El Salvador's Banking Industry Country Risk

...+ On December 28, 2018, S&P Global Ratings revised the sovereign credit ratings on El Salvador to 'B-/B' from '###+/C' after El Salvador's Congress approved the refinancing of the Eurobond due in December 2019, which gives certainty about the government's ability and willingness to comply with future amortizations on external debt. The outlook is stable. + At the same time, we're improving our economic risk (to '9' from '10') and industry risk scores (to '7' from '8'), reflecting the Salvadoran government's expected ability and willingness to comply with future amortization on external debt. Moreover, given that the sovereign is no longer under financial distress, we perceive less pressure for system-wide funding. As a result, we're revising El Salvador's Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) to a stronger category (to group '8' from '10') and strengthening the anchor for banks operating in the country (to 'b+' from 'b'). The trends on both economic and industry risk are stable....

Research Update