Fitch Ratings on June 5 affirmed the national long and short-term rating of Caja de Ahorro y Préstamos de la Asociación Nacional de Educadores at AA+ (cri) and F1+ (cri), respectively, with a stable outlook on the long-term rating.

Caja de Ahorro's ratings reflect the bank's strong capital levels, high asset quality, robust profitability and good liquidity, the rating agency said. Caja de Ahorro has the highest level of capital in Costa Rica's financial system in terms of amount, and it is also among the highest in Central America, Fitch noted. Its Fitch capital base indicator stands at 88.4%.

However, Fitch said that the ratings are constrained by the bank's franchise, business diversification, and the exposure of its income and balance sheet to state instruments, which Fitch believes compare negatively to large universal banks.

The stable outlook reflects Fitch's belief that it will maintain the company's risk profile in the foreseeable future, given the company profile, relatively high qualification level, and possibility of medium-term improvement.