Fitch ratings to amend SL National Rating scale

Colombo (News1st): Fitch Ratings has said it will amend the Sri Lankan National Rating scale to reflect changes in the relative creditworthiness among Sri Lankan issuers following the downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ on 3 December 2018. The recalibration will result in rating actions for some issues with Sri Lankan National Ratings. Fitch said it anticipated a reduction in the number of ‘AAA(lka)’ rated issuers after the recalibration exercise is finalized, expected by end February, as a result of the sovereign downgrade and the resultant changes to the relative ranking of credits in the country. National scale ratings are a risk ranking of issuers in a particular market designed to help local investors differentiate risk. Sri Lanka’s National Scale Ratings are denoted by the unique identifier ‘(lka)’. Fitch adds this identifier to reflect the unique nature of the Sri Lankan National Scale. National scales are not comparable with Fitch’s international ratings scales or with other countries’ national rating scales.