Moody’s Investors Service reviewed for possible downgrade Citigroup Pty Ltd’s long-term deposit and senior debt ratings of A1 as well as its bank financial strength rating (BFSR) at C+. The short-term rating at Prime-1 was affirmed with a stable outlook.
“The review of Citigroup Pty Ltd’s ratings follows Moody’s placing the bank’s US parent, Citibank N.A., on review for possible downgrade on 16 January 2009,” says Patrick Winsbury, a Moody’s analyst based in Sydney.
“As a consequence of the action on the US parent, all of Citibank’s offshore subsidiaries – including Citigroup Pty Ltd – have had their ratings placed on review while the group’s restructuring plans evolve.”
During the review period Moody’s will focus on if and how developments at the group level will impact the stand-alone financial profile of Citigroup Pty Ltd, which is reflected by its BFSR of C+.
Citigroup Pty Ltd’s long-term ratings do not incorporate any parental support, since its stand-alone financial position is stronger than that of its parent. Hence the review of these ratings is driven solely by the review of its BFSR.
The last rating action was on 19 December 2008 when the long-term deposit and senior debt ratings ratings of Citigroup Pty Limited were downgraded to A1 from Aa3, outlook stable.
The principal methodologies used in rating this bank were “Bank Financial Strength Ratings: Global Methodology” (February 2007) and “Incorporation of Joint-Default Analysis into Moody’s Bank Ratings: A Refined Methodology” (March 2007), which can be found at www.moodys.com in the Credit Policy & Methodologies directory, in the Ratings Methodologies subdirectory. Other methodologies and factors that may have been considered in the process of rating this bank can also be found in the Credit Policy & Methodologies directory.
Citigroup Pty Ltd is the Australian retail banking subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. It is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and reported total assets of AUD 18 billion at FYE 2007.
D.C.