Moody's upgraded Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's long- and short-term bank deposit ratings to A2/Prime-1 from A3/Prime-2.
The rating agency also upgraded to A3 from Baa1 the Spanish lender's long-term issuer rating and senior unsecured debt rating. The outlook on the long-term bank deposit rating, issuer rating and senior unsecured debt rating was revised to stable from positive.
Additionally, Moody's upgraded the senior unsecured debt rating of BBVA unit BBVA Global Markets BV to A3 from Baa1 and revised the outlook on the rating to stable from positive.
The upgrade of BBVA's bank deposit ratings, issuer rating and senior unsecured debt rating is based on the agency's expectation that the bank will continue to issue debt in order to comply with minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities by Jan. 1, 2020.
The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation of no material changes in the lender's credit fundamentals over the next 12 months to 18 months.
