Johannesburg - Absa Active Management (AAM) confirmed on Tuesday that Fitch has upgraded the rating on the AAM Money Market Fund by four notches from A to AA+ and removed the Fund from a negative rating’s watch.
This follows Absa Bank’s decisive action on Friday to remove all African Bank Investments Limited [JSE:ABL] (Abil) exposure from the AAM Money Market Fund to provide confidence and certainty to investors in the Fund.
In justifying its upgrade, Fitch said in a statement on Monday that “the removal of the African Bank exposure has removed uncertainty from the fund” and that this move “has had a materially positive impact on the fund’s credit quality".
The ratings agency also highlighted that, as of August 15 2014, the AAM Money Market Fund “comprised only the five highest credit quality South African banks, international banks and government securities making the fund's composition comparable to the most conservative money market funds currently active in South Africa".
The five highest credit quality banks Fitch references are Absa, FirstRand Group (through RMB), Investec, Nedcor and Standard Bank.
NOW READ: Absa explains African Bank deductions
- Fin24