Fitch

The rising capital expenditure trend of Indian corporates is likely to continue and grow at 10%-12% a year during the next fiscal year to March 2024, Fitch Ratings said in a release on Tuesday

Fitch Solutions said it sees raw sugar prices averaging 2% higher this year as production will likely disappoint in various regions including Europe and India, while demand in China should recover

A sustained improvement in the financial performance of Indian banks bodes well for the sector's intrinsic risk profiles, according to global rating agency Fitch. The pace of asset quality and profitability improvement has exceeded expectations, while capital buffers are broadly in line with the projections, it said in a statement. The sector's impaired-loan ratio declined to 4.5 per cent in the first nine months of financial year ended March 2023 (9MFY23), from 6 per cent at FY'22, it said, adding, this was nearly 60 basis points below Fitch's FY23 estimate. Increased write-offs have been a key factor, but higher loan growth, supported by lower slippages and improved recoveries, have also played a role, it said. Fitch expects a further improvement by FY23, although banks still face the risk of asset-quality pressure associated with the unwinding of loan forbearance in FY24. "The sector's improving provision cover (9MFY23: 75 per cent, FY22: 71 per cent) also supports banks' abili

Banks will face margin pressure next fiscal as they increase the deposit rates to attract funds to support sustained high loan growth, and the same will fall by 10 basis points to 3.45 per cent, a global rating agency said on Monday. "We expect the domestic banking sector's average net interest margin to slightly contract by about 10 bps (basis points) in FY24 to 3.45 per cent, following a 15 bps increase in FY23 to 3.55 per cent, in a base case scenario, but remain well above that during FY17-FY22 average of 3.1 per cent," Fitch Ratings said in a report. However, the 10 bps likely reduction in margin is unlikely to affect banks' profitability in the near term. Higher fee income -- stemming from higher loan growth -- and a revival in treasury gains should broadly counterbalance the twin pressures of higher credit costs and funding costs in FY24, while supporting capitalisation. This contraction is consistent with the lagged normalisation in deposit rates, although banks should be ab

Rating agency will be monitoring group firms closely for major changes in their access to finance, the cost of financing, regulatory/legal developments and ESG-related matters

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said it expects the five-month-old tax on windfall profits made by oil companies to be phased out in 2023 on the back of moderating oil rates. The government had on July 1 levied a new tax on domestically-produced crude oil as well as on the export of petrol, diesel and jet fuel (ATF) to take away windfall gains accruing to oil companies from a global surge in energy prices following Russian invasion of Ukraine. The tax rates are revised every fortnight based on prevailing international rates. The levy on petrol export has since been abolished. "We expect the windfall taxes on domestic crude oil production levied by the government in 2022 to be phased out in 2023 with moderating prices," Fitch said in its APAC Oil & Gas Outlook 2023. Domestically-produced crude oil, which makes up for 15 per cent of all oil consumed in the country, is priced at international rates. With global oil prices rallying to a decade high in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war,

Lender decision to not redeem the bonds does not indicate any weakness in capital position, says ratings agency

Rating agency warns capital base of PSBs may come under greater strain

A top US credit rating agency has lowered its outlook for British government debt from "stable" to "negative" amid the fallout from Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget fiasco

The UK's credit outlook was lowered to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings, which cited risk the government's new growth plan could increase the nation's fiscal deficit

The financial condition of Shriram Transport Finance, Muthoot Finance, Manappuram Finance and IIFL Finance is satisfactory, says agency

Fitch Ratings's 'CCC' rating on long-term local currency debt that was affirmed in May "reflects a high risk that local-currency debt will be included in debt restructuring

The aggressive expansion pursued by the Adani Group, led by Asia's richest person, has put pressure on its credit metrics and cash flow, CreditSights said

Mounting repayment pressure for some borrowers, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, amid India's interest rate hikes will test banks' loan underwriting quality, Fitch Ratings said

Action follows upgrade in outlook on India's Sovereign rating

The rating agency scaled down the GDP growth estimates for FY23 to 7.8% from 8.5%

Rating agency expects the company's FY23 revenue to increase by around 30%, lower than its forecast.

Fitch said that it would no longer have sufficient information to maintain the ratings on Evergrande, the world's most indebted developer with more than $300 bn in debt, and two of its subsidiaries

Sri Lanka's state-owned insurance firm may incur losses in excess of LKR 1 billion due to the violent clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters on May 9, Fitch said

The rating agency, in a statement, said it has affirmed Wipro's senior unsecured rating on the $750-mn senior notes due 2026