S&P lifts Ulster Bank to BBB+

S&P said it raised its long-term ratings on Ulster Bank Ltd. to BBB+ from BBB and affirmed the short-term rating at A-2.

The outlook is stable.

The rating action does not affect the ratings on Ulster Bank Ireland DAC.

S&P said the action reflects the recent legal entity transfer within the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group, in preparation for ring-fencing requirements.

As a result of these transfers, Ulster Bank no longer owns Ulster Bank Ireland DAC, and is therefore entirely focused on its activities in Northern Ireland.

“We therefore consider that the UBL legal entity is now fully integrated with RBS group's U.K. Personal and Business Banking (U.K. PBB) division,” S&P said in a news release.

“As a result, we have revised our assessment of its strategic importance to the group to core from highly strategic.

“We will also no longer assign a stand-alone credit profile (previously bb) to the entity, nor will we publish any separate research on it, as we believe that the performance of the legal entity will be inseparable from that of the U.K. PBB division.”

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