Banque Centrale Populaire Ratings Affirmed

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) of Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP or the Bank) at ‘BBB-’ and ‘A3’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed BCP’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘bb’, the Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating of ‘bb+’ and the Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of High. The Outlook for the LT FCR and BSR remains Stable.

The two-notch uplift of the Bank’s LT FCR above the BSR reflects the high likelihood of the Bank receiving extraordinary support from the authorities in the event of need given its shareholder base and, inter alia, its classification in domestic law as a strategically important company in Morocco, as well as its 25% market share of customer deposits. The government maintains a ‘golden’ share in BCP, which gives it the power to veto and/or outvote all other shares,…