Fisk  reaffirms Banco Nacional rating

The risk rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed the long-term international issuer risk rating (IDR) of Banco Nacional de Panamá at ´BBB-´, with a Stable Outlook; as well as affirming the local Long-Term rating at ´AAA(pan)´, with a Stable Outlook.

“One of the bank’s financial strengths comes from the government’s low-cost deposit base liability structure. In terms of liquidity, the bank has a solid metric of 39.5% loans to deposits (compared to most local and international peers), and its liquid assets cover 81.8% of total deposits. .

According to Fitch, it considers Banconal’s capitalization to be good with common tier 1 capital of 17.5% as of March 2022. Capital ratios have also benefited from a higher proportion of liquid assets with lower risk density.

It should be noted that the IDR, GSR and national scale ratings are based on the potential support that Banconal would receive from the Republic of Panama (BBB- Outlook Stable), if necessary. Fitch’s support opinion is highly influenced by the general subsidiary state guarantee for all liabilities established in the Organic Law of Banconal (article 3).

In Fitch’s opinion, Banco Nacional de Panamá fulfills an unofficial role as a lender of last resort in the country, which has been evident at different times in the history of stress, since the bank has been the recipient of contingency funds to inject liquidity into the system.