Fitch rates Bank of China bonds A

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an expected A(EXP) rating to Bank of China Ltd. (BOC, A/Stable) Paris Branch's proposed long-term senior unsecured notes to be issued under its medium-term note program.

The notes will be denominated in euros, dollars and Chinese yuan, with fixed and floating rates.

Proceeds will be used to fund eligible green projects. The maturity structure will be finalized upon settlement.

Fitch first rated BOC's medium-term note program at A/F1 on Dec. 9, 2013, which was subsequently affirmed on May 23, 2017. The program's size was increased to $30 billion in April 2017 from $20 billion to meet the bank's funding needs.

BOC's Paris branch is part of the same legal entity as BOC. Therefore, Fitch said the notes to be issued under the program represent BOC's direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and are rated in line with its long-term issuer default rating of A/stable.

The bank's issuer default rating is underpinned by the agency's expectations of an extremely high probability of support from the Chinese sovereign (A+/stable) in the event of stress.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.