BOV's long-term outlook affirmed as negative by Fitch

Bank of Valletta’s long-term outlook has been affirmed as negative by credit rating agency Fitch, which in its report cited “risks” as a concern. On Wednesday, BOV announced that its long term credit rating by Fitch stood at BBB. BOV said Fitch would revise the bank’s outlook to ‘stable’ if it “makes visible progress in strengthening its risk controls without materially eroding profitability.”The rating agency commented positively on BOV’s “adequate capitalisation and stable funding and liquidity”, on its “stable and ample customer deposit base” and on its “satisfactory asset quality”.

This was because of “risks from persisting operational risk headwinds and from the bank’s uncertain ability to strengthen its risk governance in a timely and effective manner.”Credit ratings help investors decide how risky it is to invest money in a specific country or security.

A 'BBB' is considered to be a satisfactory credit quality. Anything with a rating worse than one step below that, BBB-, is considered to not be an investment-grade security.

BOV confident about its future

BOV CEO Mario Mallia expressed satisfaction at the confirmation of the Bank’s credit rating.

BOV’s two-year...