CGD receives ‘investment grade’ rating from Moody’s

Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) has just seen Moody’s upgrade its rating to “investment grade”, something that had not happened for 10 years. This was one of the main objectives of the public bank’s CEO, Paulo Macedo, who is preparing to see his mandate renewed for another four years.

The credit rating agency has upgraded the senior unsecured debt rating of CGD to Baa3 from Ba1: in other words, it’s now one notch above “non-investment grade”, achieving an “investment grade” rating. The outlook was maintained at “Stable”.

In a statement, CGD highlighted this increase as an “important milestone” in its evolution and market position, which “follows three increases during the implementation of the 2017-2020 strategic plan, as a result of the progressive strengthening of the solidity, profitability and quality of assets.”

BPI and Montepio ratings also improve

In addition to CGD, Moody’s also increased the ratings of BPI and Banco Montepio, although each banking institution is at a different stage of the US agency’s risk classification.

In BPI’s case, the rating rose one notch from “Baa3” to “Baa2”. It was already at a level considered an “investment grade” and has now reinforced this status with this upward revision. The outlook is also “stable”.

For Montepio, Moody’s has also upgraded its rating, from “Caa1” to “B3”, with the bank’s senior unsecured debt rating being considered “non-investment grade”.