By The Newspaper’s Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Moody鈥檚 Ratings on Tuesday upgraded to Caa1 from Caa2 the local and foreign-currency long-term deposit ratings of five leading Pakistani banks, following its decision to raise the country鈥檚 sovereign rating.
The upgraded banks include Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), MCB Bank Limited (MCB), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and United Bank Ltd (UBL). 鈥淲e have also upgraded the Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) and Adjusted BCAs for ABL, HBL, MCB and UBL to Caa1 from Caa2, and of NBP to Caa2 from Caa3,鈥 the rating agency said, adding that the outlook on the long-term deposit ratings of all banks had been revised to stable from positive.
Moody鈥檚 said the upgrades reflected Pakistan鈥檚 improving operating environment, the government鈥檚 enhanced capacity to support banks if required, and the banks鈥 own resilient financial performance.
It said improvements in Pakistan鈥檚 external position were contributing to a more stable macroeconomic environment, benefiting banks that are heavi