Legal Proceedings Report • Oct 20, 2023
Legal Proceedings Report
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19 OCT 2023
Fitch Ratings - London - 19 Oct 2023: Fitch Ratings has placed the support-driven 'A' Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of four Israeli banks on Ratings Watch Negative (RWN) following similar action on the sovereign. The banks' 'F1+' Short-Term IDRs, their 'a' Government Support Ratings (GSRs) and their 'A' senior debt ratings were also placed on RWN. A full list of rating actions is below.
The banks' 'a-' Viability Ratings (VRs) and other ratings are not immediately affected by the sovereign rating action.
For additional details on the sovereign rating action see "Fitch Places Israel's 'A+' IDRs on Rating Watch Negative" dated 17 October 2023.
The IDRs, GSRs and, where relevant, senior debt ratings of Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M., Bank Hapoalim B.M., Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd and Israel Discount Bank Limited reflect our view of a very high probability that Israel (A+/RWN/F1+/RWN) would support the banks, if needed. Fitch assesses Israel's propensity to support these banks as very high, particularly given their systemic importance, as each represents between 15% and 30% of banking system assets. However, the RWN reflects increased risks to the sovereign's ability to provide support.
A downgrade of the sovereign rating is likely to result in a downgrade of the banks' GSRs, IDRs and senior debt ratings (where relevant).
The banks' IDRs are likely to be affirmed and removed from RWN if Israel's ratings are affirmed and removed from RWN.
An upgrade of the IDRs is unlikely due to the RWN on the sovereign IDRs.
The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.
The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.
Director Primary Rating Analyst +44 20 3530 2723 Fitch Ratings Ltd 30 North Colonnade, Canary Wharf London E14 5GN
Analyst Secondary Rating Analyst +44 20 3530 1919
Senior Director Committee Chairperson +44 20 3530 1300
London +44 20 3530 1103 [email protected]
| ENTITY/DEBT | RATING | RECOVERY | PRIOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. |
LT IDR | A | Rating Watch On |
A | |
| ST IDR | F1+ | Rating Watch On |
F1+ |
| ENTITY/DEBT | RATING | RECOVERY | PRIOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Support |
a | Rating Watch On |
a | ||
| • senior unsecuredLT |
A | Rating Watch On |
A | ||
| Bank Hapoalim B.M. |
LT IDR | A | Rating Watch On |
A | |
| ST IDR | F1+ | Rating Watch On |
F1+ | ||
| Government Support |
a | Rating Watch On |
a | ||
| Israel Discount Bank Limited |
LT IDR | A | Rating Watch On |
A | |
| ST IDR | F1+ | Rating Watch On |
F1+ | ||
| Government Support |
a | Rating Watch On |
a | ||
| • senior unsecuredLT |
A | Rating Watch On |
A | ||
| Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd |
LT IDR | A | Rating Watch On |
A | |
| ST IDR | F1+ | Rating Watch On |
F1+ |
| ENTITY/DEBT | RATING | RECOVERY | PRIOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Support |
a | Rating Watch On |
a | ||
| RATINGS KEY | OUTLOOK | WATCH | |||
| POSITIVE | |||||
| NEGATIVE | |||||
| EVOLVING | |||||
| STABLE |
Bank Rating Criteria (pub.01 Sep 2023) (including rating assumption sensitivity)
| Bank Hapoalim B.M. | UK Issued, EU Endorsed |
|---|---|
| Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. | UK Issued, EU Endorsed |
| Israel Discount Bank Limited | UK Issued, EU Endorsed |
| Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd | UK Issued, EU Endorsed |
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