Panama-based PFC's exposure to countries with high economic risk, such as Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and others, limits the ratings on the company. This exposure is reflected in a weak capitalization level, according to our projected risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio, which is about 4% for the next two years. PFC's business stability, business line diversification, good market share in the region, and stable asset quality metrics support the ratings. We're assigning our 'B+' long-term and 'B' short-term issuer credit ratings to PFC. The stable outlook primarily reflects our expectation that PFC will maintain its RAC ratio around 4% for the next two years. This should result from manageable credit growth and stable asset quality metrics despite Central America's challenging economic
