Fitch downgrades ICICI Bank

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded ICICI Bank Ltd.'s long-term issuer default rating to BB+ from BBB- and viability rating to BB+ from BBB-.

The outlook is Stable.

The ratings come amid the challenges that the bank faces in its operating environment, Fitch said.

The agency said it lowered its midpoint for India's operating environment to BB+ from BBB- following a review of the banking sector's performance, particularly in the last three years, the agency said.

Fitch said it believes the sector will perform below the average of its peers over the next one to two years in spite of expectations of high economic growth and improving business prospects in India.

ICICI's core capitalization is higher than that of most other Indian banks, but within the current operating environment poses only a moderate buffer against risks, the agency said.

That said, Fitch said it believes the bank has some capital fungibility through the sale of stakes in profitable subsidiaries and the repatriation of excess capital from foreign subsidiaries.

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