Moody's changes rating outlook to negative on SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge following proposed BRRD legislation; ratings affirmed

Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has today changed the outlook to negative from stable on the deposit and senior debt ratings of SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge. The deposit, senior debt and issuer rating of the bank were affirmed at their current rating levels reflecting the broadly unchanged standalone creditworthiness and liability structure of SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge.

The negative outlook was triggered by the proposed legislation tabled at the Norwegian parliament on 21 June 2017 by the Ministry of Finance, to implement the EU’s bank resolution and recovery directive (BRRD) and the deposit guarantee scheme directive. If enacted, the rating agency expects that Norwegian banks will benefit from a lower probability of government support, which will exert downward pressure on the ratings. Today’s rating action signals Moody’s intention to more closely align its support assumptions for Norwegian banks to those of its European peers where the BRRD framework has been implemented.

Today’s rating action covers all Norwegian banks whose ratings currently benefit from an uplift due to government support assumptions.

Contact person, SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge:  CFO Rolf Eigil Bygdnes, tel: +47 905 19 774