Fitch Rating Ltd, on Wednesday 8th July, downgraded Sampath Bank PLC’s (SAMP) credit rating from AA- (lka) to A+ (lka) while affirming the ratings of nine other banks.
According to Fitch, the downgrade reflects “weakening of its capitalisation relative to peers”. SAMP in a CSE filing on the next day mentioned that its total capital adequacy ratio and Tier 1 ratio remained well above the minimum requirement, stipulated by the CBSL, as at end of the March 2015.
While SAMP has mentioned that it has been “adopting a policy of leveraging its capital to an optimum level”, Fitch has warned that “a sharp decline in its asset quality could result in a further rating downgrade.
