Kredyt Bank S.A. Unsolicited 'BBpi' Rating Affirmed And Withdrawn Ahead Of Merger With Bank Zachodni WBK

Rating Action On Dec. 12, 2012, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed and then withdrew its unsolicited public information 'BBpi' counterparty credit rating on Kredyt Bank S.A., a commercial bank based in Poland (foreign currency A-/Stable/A-2; local currency A/Stable/A-1). Rationale The withdrawal reflects that Kredyt Bank will cease to exist as a legal entity, following its merger with Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK S.A. (not rated), likely in early 2013. The affirmation reflected our unchanged view that the bank's business position, capital and earnings, funding, and liquidity are neutral rating factors, while its risk position is a negative rating factor. Consequently, we had affirmed the bank's stand-alone credit profile in the 'bb' category. At the time of withdrawal, we did not factor in any group extraordinary support into the rating based on Kredyt Bank's subsidiary status in the Belgium-based KBC Bank N.V. (A-/Stable/A-2). This is because we classified the bank as a "nonstrategic" subsidiary of KBC, under our criteria. KBC had recently agreed with Spain-based Banco Santander S.A. (BBB/Negative/A-2) to merge Kredyt Bank with Bank Zachodni WBK and indicated it will reduce its ownership stake from 87.2% of the former Kredyt Bank to 16.4% of the new bank after the merger and then gradually divest the remaining stake.

• Full name
  Kredyt Bank S.A.
• Registration country
  Poland
• Industry
  Banks