Fitch downgrades FirstRand

Johannesburg - Global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has revised the outlooks on FirstRand Bank Limited's (FRB) and its parent, FirstRand Bank Holdings Limited's (FRBH) IDRs, to negative, from stable.

All other ratings were affirmed, Fitch said in a statement.

The ratings reflect a solid domestic franchise, diversified earnings and acceptable tier 1 capital ratios.

"The outlook revisions follow the recent trading statement by management, reflecting the impact of the ongoing deterioration in South Africa's macro- economic environment and worsening credit conditions leading to significantly higher impairment charges and its effect on profitability.

"Fitch expects the operating environment to continue to weaken. Performance has also been affected by additional one-off losses, which in Fitch's view raises concerns over risk management in FRBH's equity trading division," it said in a statement.

Fitch expects FRBH's earnings to decline during FY09 on the back of increased impairment charges and one-off losses. The higher impairment charges are expected to be driven by a significant increase in bad debts in FRBH's mortgage book, accentuated by a downturn in the property market.

FRBH expects the impairment charge on residential mortgages to be about 1.6% of average gross loans during FY09 (FY08: 0.84%).

WesBank's financial performance is also expected to be materially affected by increasing impairments although management have indicated that arrears within WesBank have started to stabilise. Loan book growth is expected to be flat to FYE09, it said.

- I-Net Bridge