Spain-Based Abanca Outlook To Positive On Strengthening Business Profile And Easing Economic Risks; Ratings Affirmed

We consider that Abanca is delivering on its strategic plan, resuming volume growth, and shifting to a more-profitable asset mix, which could ultimately enable it to turn its current net operating losses around. The positive momentum of the Spanish economy could result in a strengthening of Abanca's capitalization beyond our base-case forecasts. As a result, we are revising our outlook on Abanca to positive from stable. We are also affirming the long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings at 'B+/B'. The positive outlook reflects the possibility we could raise the ratings in the next 12-18 months if Abanca continues to deliver on specific strategic goals, namely strengthening its business and reversing its still-negative operating profitability, or if it improves its risk-adjusted

...+ We consider that Abanca is delivering on its strategic plan, resuming volume growth, and shifting to a more-profitable asset mix, which could ultimately enable it to turn its current net operating losses around. + The positive momentum of the Spanish economy could result in a strengthening of Abanca's capitalization beyond our base-case forecasts. + As a result, we are revising our outlook on Abanca to positive from stable. We are also affirming the long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings at 'B+/B'. + The positive outlook reflects the possibility we could raise the ratings in the next 12-18 months if Abanca continues to deliver on specific strategic goals, namely strengthening its business and reversing its still-negative operating profitability, or if it improves its risk-adjusted capital ratio sustainably above 7%. MADRID (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 25, 2016--S&P Global Ratings today revised its outlook on Spain-based Abanca Corporacion Bancaria S.A. (Abanca) to positive from...

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