Moody’s Investors Service affirmed in July 2022 China Bank's credit rating on the back of its strong capitalization and profitability. Deposit and issuer credit ratings remained at Baa2, a notch above the minimum investment grade, with stable outlook.
Moody's cited stable capitalization and profitability, which support business expansion, and sound liquidity as China Bank’s credit strengths. On the other hand, asset quality risks resulting from the concentrated loan book and a modest funding profile, with a relatively high share of corporate deposits, are the Bank’s credit challenges.
“The improvement in the bank's capital since 2019 has been higher than the average of its peers, reflecting a combination of low loan growth from the pre-pandemic level in 2019 and increased profitability,” Moody’s noted in its report..
Source: Moody’s Credit opinion report (July 2022)
Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave its highest credit rating of “PRS Aaa (corp)” to China Bank, citing the Bank’s sound funding profile and improving asset quality.
PhilRating’s October 21, 2021 report says, “The rating takes into account China Bank’s established track record and resiliency, and strong and experienced shareholders who have navigated the bank through various changes in the economic environment; its sound funding profile; its lower interest expense that will support short-term profit performance; and its more than satisfactory asset quality, with ample capital buffer.”
PhilRatings said it expects China Bank to maintain its sound credit profile due to its core strengths that boost the lender’s resilience and operations amid the “new normal.” It noted the 101-year-old bank was able to survive past downturns, including the Great Depression in 1931 and the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.