4 Tunisian banks’ deposit ratings head for downgrade

Moody's Investors Service has placed the local and foreign currency deposit ratings of four Tunisian banks on review for possible downgrade in light of its global review of systemic support indicators and stress testing for the banking systems. Bank financial strength ratings (BFSRs) of affected Tunisian banks remain unchanged.
The affected financial institutions are Amen Bank, Banque de Tunisie, Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie and Societe Tunisienne de Banque.
The review of the local currency deposit ratings will look at the extent to which Tunisia's ability to provide support to its banking system, if needed, is converging with the government's own debt capacity as a result of the ongoing global economic and credit crisis. Moody's will refine its assessment of systemic support available from the Tunisian government to capture the impact of the erosion of the local economy's underlying credit fundamentals and the reduced fiscal policy flexibility on the government's ability to support the banking sector.
The local and foreign currency deposit ratings of Arab Tunisian Bank are unaffected by these rating actions. They remain unchanged at Baa2/P-2 given that the bank benefits from an additional source of support — parental support from its majority shareholder Arab Bank PLC, which counterbalances any impact stemming from a change in systemic indicators.