S&P rates BankWest sale positively
(Australia) In the light of the recent 100 percent takeover by HBOS, international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has given BankWest a "positive" long-term rating and affirmed its A-1 short-term rating.
S&P said it did not expect BankWest’s future business profile to change significantly, but that it believed the bank would "work closely with HBOS across a wide range of business and operational functions".
"Any upward move in BankWest’s ratings would be predicated on the bank demonstrating an increased level of integration with HBOS, thereby strengthening its strategic importance to the group," S&P credit analyst Peter Sikora said.
"HBOS and BankWest are expected to work through strategic issues over the next few months. Equalization of the ratings on BankWest with those on HBOS’s core operating companies is unlikely, as S&P, under its group methodology criteria, considers BankWest to be strategically important to, rather than a core subsidiary of, HBOS," he said.
"Any upward move in BankWest’s ratings would be predicated on the bank demonstrating an increased level of integration with HBOS, thereby strengthening its strategic importance to the group," S&P credit analyst Peter Sikora said.
"HBOS and BankWest are expected to work through strategic issues over the next few months. Equalization of the ratings on BankWest with those on HBOS’s core operating companies is unlikely, as S&P, under its group methodology criteria, considers BankWest to be strategically important to, rather than a core subsidiary of, HBOS," he said.
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