DBRS Places KBC Group’s A (high) Rating Under Review With Negative Implications

DBRS, Inc (DBRS) has today placed the ratings of KBC Group N.V. (KBC or the Group) including its A Senior Long-Term Debt and Deposit ratings and its R-1 (middle) Short-Term Debt and Deposits rating Under Review with Negative Implications. DBRS has also placed the ratings of KBC’s principal banking subsidiary, KBC Bank, N.V. (KBC Bank), of A (high) for its Senior Long-Term Debt & Deposits and R-1 (middle) for its Short-Term Debt & Deposits Under Review With Negative Implications.

This action follows DBRS’s removal of the floor rating of A (high) for Belgian CIBs on October 11, 2013, following an assessment of the applicability of the rating floor for CIBs in Belgium (See “DBRS Removes Rating Floors in Belgium”, published October 11, 2013 for further details.).

Under the floor rating, KBC Bank’s Long-Term Debt and Deposit rating of A(high) benefited from a two notch upgrade from its Intrinsic Assessment (IA) at A (Low) and KBC Group’s Long-Term Debt and Deposit ratings of A, benefitted from a two notch upgrade from its IA of BBB (high). The review of KBC’s ratings will assess the impact of the removal of the rating floor, as well as considering the latest developments at KBC.

Notes:
All figures are in Euros (EUR) unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology applicable is: the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organizations. Other methodologies used include the DBRS Criteria – Intrinsic and Support Assessments. The rating methodologies and criteria used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: http://www.dbrs.com/about/methodologies.

The sources of information used for this rating include company reports and SNL Financial. DBRS considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating was of satisfactory quality.

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union.

Lead Analyst: Roger Lister
Rating Committee Chair: Alan G. Reid
Initial Rating Date: June 3, 2010
Most Recent Rating Update: April 20, 2012

For additional information on this rating, please refer to the linking document located at: http://www.dbrs.com/research/236983/banks-and-banking-organisations-linking-document.pdf

Information regarding DBRS ratings, including definitions, policies and methodologies are available on www.dbrs.com.