NCBA Group Ratings Upgraded to B After Nedbank Deal

In Short

Fitch upgraded NCBA Group PLC and NCBA Bank Kenya’s Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings to 'B' from 'B-'. It also upgraded their National Long-Term Ratings to 'AAA(ken)' from 'AA(ken)'.

The agency removed the ratings from Rating Watch Positive and assigned Stable outlooks. Fitch linked the upgrades to Nedbank’s acquisition of NCBA.

What Happened: Fitch Re-Rates NCBA After Nedbank Acquisition

Fitch said it upgraded NCBA Group PLC’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B' from 'B-'. An IDR is Fitch’s view of a borrower’s ability to meet financial obligations, like paying back debt.

Fitch also upgraded NCBA Bank Kenya’s Long-Term IDR to 'B' from 'B-'.

On the national scale, Fitch upgraded both NCBA Group PLC and NCBA Bank Kenya’s National Long-Term Ratings to 'AAA(ken)' from 'AA(ken)'. A National Long-Term Rating is a country specific rating that compares entities mainly within the same country.

Fitch said the ratings had been on Rating Watch Positive, which signals a possible upgrade is being monitored. It removed the watch and assigned Stable outlooks after Nedbank acquired NCBA.

Why It Matters

Credit ratings affect how banks are viewed by lenders, investors, and business partners. Moving from 'B-' to 'B', and from 'AA(ken)' to 'AAA(ken)', can change how the market prices risk for NCBA Group and NCBA Bank Kenya.

A Stable outlook means Fitch does not expect to change the rating in the near term based on current information. In this case, Fitch tied that stability to the ownership change following Nedbank’s acquisition of NCBA.