Moody's on Sept. 19 upgraded the long-term bank deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings of Crédit Agricole SA and Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank to Aa3 from A1 and revised the outlook on the ratings to stable from positive.
Crédit Agricole's long-term issuer rating and baseline credit assessment were upgraded to Aa3 from A1 and to "baa2" from "baa3," respectively. The outlook on the French lender's long-term issuer rating was also revised to stable from positive.
The adjusted baseline credit assessments of Crédit Agricole SA and Crédit Agricole CIB were upgraded to "a3" from "baa1", while their long-term counterparty risk ratings and long-term counterparty risk assessments were upgraded to Aa2 from Aa3 and to Aa2(cr) from Aa3(cr), respectively. The rating agency affirmed Crédit Agricole CIB's "ba2" baseline credit assessment.
Moody's also upgraded the long-term bank deposit ratings of the 36 Caisses Régionales de Crédit Agricole Mutuel entities to Aa3 from A1 and revised the outlook on the ratings to stable from positive. All the entities' long-term counterparty risk assessments and counterparty risk ratings were upgraded to Aa2(cr) from Aa3(cr) and Aa2 from Aa3, respectively.
The agency noted that the rating action reflects the continued improvements in Crédit Agricole Group's capitalization and asset risk, combined with the earnings stability provided by a good degree of diversification.
The stable outlook on the long-term issuer rating of Crédit Agricole SA and the long-term deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings of the rated Crédit Agricole Group entities reflects Moody's view that the group strategy over the next 12 months to 18 months will lead to the continuation of capital accretion stemming from stable profitability and no substantial deterioration of asset quality.
The rating agency affirmed several ratings of all the entities of Crédit Agricole Group.
