DBRS Morningstar Assigns First-Time Ratings to Belfius Financing Company, LT Issuer Rating at ‘A’, Stable Trend

DBRS Ratings GmbH (DBRS Morningstar) assigned first-time ratings to Belfius Financing Company SA (BFC, or the issuer), a company under Luxemburg law, subsidiary of Belfius Bank SA/NV (Belfius), and issuer of Short and Long-Term debt instruments. These include a Long-Term Issuer Rating of ‘A’ and a Short-Term Issuer Rating of R-1 (low). In addition, DBRS Morningstar assigned ratings of ‘A’ with Stable trend to the Long-Term Senior Debt issued by BFC and a rating of R-1 (low) with a Stable trend to the Short-Term Debt issued by BFC (the Issuer) under its EUR 20 billion Notes Issuance Programme and its EUR 10 billion Euro-Commercial Paper Programme (the Programmes). The notes issued by BFC under the Programmes are directly, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Belfius Bank SA (the Guarantor). Accordingly, the ratings on these notes are equal to that of Belfius’s Long-Term and Short-Term Debt ratings. These ratings apply only to the Notes issued by BFC under these Programmes and are subject to the maintenance of Belfius’s Long-Term Senior Debt rating of ‘A’. The Support Assessment is SA1, reflecting DBRS Morningstar’s view that, in case of need, the Bank is highly likely to receive support from its parent. A full list of rating actions is included at the end of this press release.

RATING DRIVERS
Given the SA1 designation, Belfius Financing Company SA’s ratings will generally move in tandem with Belfius Bank’s ratings. An upgrade could follow an upgrade of the parent Belfius Bank’s ratings.

Similarly, a downgrade could result from a downgrade of Belfius Bank’s ratings or should the Bank become a non-core subsidiary for the Group or if Belfius Bank materially decreases its level of support.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
Credit rating actions on Belfius Bank are likely to have an impact on this credit rating.

There were no Environmental, Social or Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (17 May 2022) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/396929/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings

Notes:
All figures are in EUR unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations (22 June 2023) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/415978. In addition DBRS Morningstar uses the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/396929/dbrs-morningstar-criteria-approach-to-environmental-social-and-governance-risk-factors-in-credit-ratings in its consideration of ESG factors.

The following methodologies have also been applied
• DBRS Morningstar Global Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (28 March 2023) https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/411694/dbrs-morningstar-global-criteria-guarantees-and-other-forms-of-support

The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/about/methodologies.

The sources of information used for this rating include Morningstar Inc. and Company Documents, Belfius Financing Company’s 2023 Notes Issuance Programme and Euro-Commercial Paper Programme. DBRS Morningstar considers the information available to it for the purposes of providing this rating to be of satisfactory quality.

This rating concerns a newly rated issuer. This is the first DBRS Morningstar rating on this issuer.

With respect to FCA and ESMA regulations in the United Kingdom and European Union, respectively, this is an unsolicited credit rating. This credit rating was not initiated at the request of the issuer.

With Rated Entity or Related Third-Party Participation: YES
With Access to Internal Documents: NO
With Access to Management: NO

DBRS Morningstar does not audit the information it receives in connection with the rating process, and it does not and cannot independently verify that information in every instance.

The conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are generally resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar's outlooks and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: https://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a central repository, see https://data.fca.org.uk/#/ceres/craStats.

The sensitivity analysis of the relevant key rating assumptions can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/416759

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom.

Lead Analyst: Arnaud Journois, Vice President – Global FIG
Rating Committee Chair: Elisabeth Rudman - Managing Director, Credit Ratings - Global Fundamental Ratings
Initial Rating Date: 3 July 2023
Last Rating Date: Not applicable as there is no last rating date.

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For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com