First Republic’s rating was downgraded again less than a week after a group of Wall Street lenders agreed to deposit $30 billion with the struggling lender.
Fitch Ratings downgraded First Republic Bank’s long-term issuer default rating to ‘B’ from ‘BB’, citing higher costs of new funding. Fitch had already downgraded the company’s rating to junk before the rescue package passed. Peer S&P Global also downgraded the bank twice in recent days.
While First Republic Bank received some liquidity with a $30 billion capital infusion from a consortium of 11 of the largest US banks, “the bank’s relatively expensive new funding profile is seen as a major rating constraint,” according to Johann Analysts led by Moller wrote in a note.
They said the bank is currently in loss and “is not sustainable in the long term without a balance sheet restructuring”.
According to the rating firm, the requirement to repay $30 billion at the end of the term will pose a challenge for struggling lenders. Like other US banks, the fair market value of First Republic’s securities and loans has fallen below book value, meaning any asset sale “will likely require a substantial recapitalisation.”
Fitch said the bank’s holdings of long-term municipal securities and residential mortgages also raised capital concerns. The rating firm has a negative view of First Republic, suggesting further downgrades are likely.
The spread on its 4.375% bonds due 2,046 widened 18 basis points to 452 basis points as of 13:35 New York time.