Moody's on Feb. 23 placed the ratings of Barclays Bank México SA Institución de Banca Múltiple Grupo Financiero Barclays on review for downgrade, following the same action on its British parent, Barclays Bank Plc.
Among the ratings placed under review are the Mexican bank's long- and short-term global local and foreign currency deposit ratings at Baa3 and Prime-3, respectively; the long-term Mexican national scale deposit rating of Aa3.mx; and the long- and short-term counterparty risk assessment of Baa2(cr) and Prime-2(cr), respectively.
The review on the Mexican entity is triggered by a review of its British parent due to reforms in the United Kingdom where companies will have to separate their retail and business banking units from other operations under the country's ring-fencing regulation.
During the review, Moody's will assess the willingness of the parent company to support Barclays México. The rating agency has noted that while the parent highly supports its Mexican operations, its greater focus in the U.K. and the U.S. "has led to a reduction in its international footprint, and could imply a lower willingness on its part to support the Mexican operations."
