Rabobank Group

23-10-2009 | Other news

Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Rabobank's Aaa status but changed the outlook to negative from stable. The rating agency motivated this decision as follows:
 
"The affirmation of Rabobank’s B+ BFSR reflects the bank’s strong capital buffers, the outstanding stability and resilience of its financial ratios and credit profile, and the strength of Rabobank’s cooperative model in a deteriorating economic environment. Rabobank’s superior intrinsic financial strength and Moody’s continued expectation of a very high probability of systemic support also led to the affirmation of the bank’s Aaa long-term ratings. The negative outlooks on the Aaa/B+ ratings indicate that Rabobank is not immune to its macro-economic environment. In particular Moody’s expects some negative pressure stemming from Rabobank’s corporate loan portfolio and from some of its subsidiaries or affiliates". (see full text) moody's
 
CFO Bert Bruggink is pleased with the affirmation of the Aaa rating. "It is positive that we have managed to keep the Aaa rating under these difficult economic circumstances, based upon - in Moody's words- our superior intrinsic financial strength. With triple-A ratings of both Moody's and Standard & Poor's, we maintain a unique position in the banking world". His reaction on the change in outlook to negative from stable: "Of course we are not immune to our macro-economic environment. And the increase in provisioning in the corporate loan portfolio during 2009 obviously plays a role in Moody’s decision”. 
Bruggink affirmed Rabobank’s commitment to its Triple-A rating ambition.