Fitch reaffirms Bank of Valletta's credit status

Credit ratings agency Fitch affirms rating at BBB+ with stable outlook.

Credit ratings agency Fitch has affirmed its rating of the Bank of Valletta Group at BBB+, with a stable outlook.

Fitch said it attributed the confirmation of BOV's rating to the bank's strong domestic franchise, its stable funding model and its healthy liquidity position, which benefits from a wide customer deposit base and €900 million of unencumbered marketable assets. 

The agency commends BOV's operating profitability, which has shown resilience even in a scenario of low interest rates, its prudent provisioning policy and its regulatory capital ratios.

Fitch said it expects that BOV "will be able to continue to report strong profits given its strong market shares and ability to price risk."

Group CEO Charles Borg expressed his satisfaction. "The re-affirmation of BOV's rating and stable outlook by Fitch supports BOV's position as the bank of choice for customer deposits," said Mr Borg.

"This result is testimony to the sound governance and prudent policies that BOV has in place, and assumes greater significance in the context of the difficult situation which most Eurozone economies are still passing through."

avatar
Joseph MELI
The BoV -that well known advocate and respecter of customer rights-were quick off the blocks with their cheif bankster making all the ready-made, in-stock announcements in acknowledging this "re-affirmation of BoV;s rating by Fitch" and the rest of the usual hyperbole.But whenever such treatings are downgraded these are then pooh-poohed and treated with disdain as irrevelant and meaningless.Accept when they are upgraded who actually takes any notice of these rating agencies and what actual sense of propose do they serve.Why the US government is currently taking legal action against another of these proliferating rating agencies ,namely Standard and Poor,for providing good ratings to crooks.