Link Securities | Caixabank (CABK) informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that the rating agency Fitch Ratings Europe Limited (Fitch) has upgraded the following credit ratings of the Bank:
Long-term issuer rating to A- from BBB+.
Senior preferred debt rating to A from A-.
Non-preferred senior debt rating to A- from BBB+.
Subordinated Tier 2 debt rating to BBB from BBB-.
Derivatives counterparty rating to A(dcr) from A-(dcr).
Long-term Deposit Rating to A from A- and short-term to F1 from F2.
Long-term issuer rating outlook revised to Stable from Positive.
In other other news, the newspaper Expansión reported on Wednesday the statements made by CABK CEO Gonzalo Gortázar during his speech at a conference organised by the Financial Times in London, in which the executive considered that the new tax on banking that the government has designed is not justified if it is argued by profits, because the profitability of the sector in Spain, with a return on capital of 13% or 14%, is far from the 18% of the Ibex 35. Gortázar also warned that its effects will be counterproductive because it will reduce the volume of credit and make it more expensive. “It changes the point of equilibrium; it is basic economics,” he said.
CABK’s chief executive has referred to the significant distortion that the tax will have for some banks, given that the levy does not apply to foreign entities or non-bank financial institutions. In addition, the figure, initially designed for three years, has a progressive rate, whereby CABK will pay about 7% on interest and fee income, compared to 1% for others.
Asked about the outlook for the coming year, the banker spoke of a year of growth, which will translate into a “clear increase in lending” in a context in which Spanish GDP is expected to grow by around 2.5%. In the last 15 years, lending in Spain has fallen by 38%, compared to a 21% increase in the Eurozone. “There has been a deleveraging in Spain that we believe will gradually reverse, and 2025 looks like a reasonably good year for us”, he said. Gortázar also referred to banking union in Europe, which is still a long way off, and acknowledged that “sacrifices and concessions” will have to be made to achieve it.
Finally, CABK informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that the public deed of capital reduction (and consequent amendment of the articles of association) in the amount of €93,149,836, through the redemption of 93,149,836 treasury shares, was registered yesterday, 4 December 2024, at the Commercial Registry of Valencia. As a result, CABK’s share capital was set at €7,174,937,846, represented by 7,174,937,846 shares of €1 par value each, all of the same class and series.
