Fitch: sound profile, management, solid capital earn Zenith Senior Notes ‘B+(EXP)’

Fitch Ratings has assigned Zenith Bank PLC’s upcoming issuance of $500 million, five-year senior unsecured notes an expected rating of ‘B+’.
According to Fitch Zenith’s ratings are among the highest assigned by Fitch to a Nigerian bank.

This reflects its sound company profile and management, solid capital base and strong through-the-cycle performance.

The Recovery Rating is ‘RR4’, which denotes average recovery prospects in the event of default. The notes will be issued under Zenith’s updated $1 billion global medium term note programme.

The assignment of the final rating Fitch said is contingent on the receipt of final documents conforming to the information received to date. Fitch said that “the senior unsecured notes are rated in line with Zenith’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B+’. In the agency’s view, the likelihood of default on these notes reflects the likelihood of default of the bank. Zenith’s IDR is driven by its standalone creditworthiness as defined by its Viability Rating (VR) of ‘b+’.”