Credit Opinion: EBS Ltd Global Credit Research - 11 Dec 2014 Dublin, Ireland Ratings Category Moody's Rating Outlook Negative(m) Bank Deposits Ba2/NP Bank Financial Strength E+ Baseline Credit Assessment Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment Senior Unsecured -Dom Curr Subordinate MTN -Dom Curr Ba3 (P)B2 Other Short Term -Dom Curr (P)NP Parent: Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. Outlook Negative(m) Bank Deposits Ba2/NP Bank Financial Strength Baseline Credit Assessment E+ Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment Senior Unsecured -Dom Curr Ba3 Subordinate B2 Jr Subordinate Other Short Term -Dom Curr Caa2 (hyb) (P)NP Contacts Analyst Phone Dany Castiglione/London 44.20.7772.5454 Carlos Suarez Duarte/London Johannes Wassenberg/London Key Indicators EBS Ltd (Consolidated Financials)[1] [2]12-13 [2]12-12 [2]12-11 [2]12-10 [2]12-09 Avg. Total Assets (EUR million) 14,139.0 16,317.0 18,533.6 20,209.4 21,505.6 [3]-10.0 Total Assets (USD million) 19,482.7 21,512.2 24,059.3 27,111.8 30,855.0 [3]-10.9 Tangible Common Equity (EUR million) 772.0 671.0 1,024.6 862.9 564.0 [3]8.2 Tangible Common Equity (USD million) 1,063.8 884.6 1,330.1 1,157.6 809.2 [3]7.1 Net Interest Margin (%) 1.1 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 [4]0.8 PPI / Average RWA (%) 1.1 0.7 1.1 0.6 1.0 [5]0.9 Net Income / Average RWA (%) -3.0-7.3-1.6-5.7-0.7 [5]-3.7 (Market Funds - Liquid Assets) / Total Assets (%) 14.1 15.1 34.8 32.5 31.1 [4]25.5 Core Deposits / Average Gross Loans (%) 68.2 66.9 51.0 56.2 58.3 [4]60.1 Tier 1 Ratio (%) 9.3 7.6 10.1 9.1 6.7 [5]8.6 Tangible Common Equity / RWA (%) 9.1 7.2 10.0 8.6 5.6 [5]8.1 Cost / Income Ratio (%) 50.5 53.2 46.6 61.8 48.5 [4]52.1 Problem Loans / Gross Loans (%) 25.0 21.7 21.7 11.4 5.9 [4]17.1 Problem Loans / (Equity + Loan Loss Reserves) (%) 156.5 185.7 198.4 177.8 235.1 [4]190.7 Source: Moody's
[1] All figures and ratios are adjusted using Moody's standard adjustments [2] Basel II; IFRS [3] Compound Annual Growth Rate based on IFRS reporting periods [4] IFRS reporting periods have been used for average calculation [5] Basel II & IFRS reporting periods have been used for average calculation Opinion SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE Moody's assigns a standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) of E+ to EBS Ltd (EBS) that maps to a standalone credit assessment. The standalone ratings reflect EBS' established position in the Irish mortgage and savings market, its position as a fully-owned subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks (AIB, rated E+/Ba2, negative (m) outlook) as well as the challenges the bank faces in terms of asset quality. The bank's capital levels are relatively light, as most of the capital is held at the parent level. The bank deposit ratings of EBS are Ba2/NP (negative outlook) and the unguaranteed senior unsecured debt ratings are Ba3/N-P (stable outlook). The ratings are the same as its parent's. Rating Drivers Profitability is negatively impacted by impairment losses and deleveraging, although improving Mortgage asset quality remains an issue Capital position depends on AIB Improving funding profile backed by a large customer deposits base Rating Outlook The rating outlook on the E+ BFSR is stable, reflecting the balance between the continuing downside risks, as well as the positive signals stemming from stabilization in the broader Irish economy. As detailed above, the senior ratings have a stable outlook, in line with the outlook on the BFSR, the ratings of AIB, and the outlook on the government bond rating. The negative outlook on the deposit ratings takes into account the recent adoption of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) regulation in the EU. In particular, this reflects that, with the legislation underlying the new resolution framework now in place and the explicit inclusion of burden-sharing with unsecured creditors as a means of reducing the public cost of bank resolutions, the balance of risk for banks' senior unsecured creditors has shifted to the downside. Although our support assumptions are unchanged for now, the probability has risen that they will be revised downwards to reflect the new framework. For further details, please refer to our Special Comment entitled "Reassessing Systemic Support for EU Banks," published on 29 May 2014. What Could Change the Rating - Up Upward pressure on the bank's BCA in the medium term could be exerted by (1) a sustained recovery of assetquality indicators; (2) a return to profitability and improved efficiency metrics; and (3) further improvement in funding and liquidity profile. What Could Change the Rating - Down The bank's BCA could be adversely affected by (1) an un-anticipated deterioration in the bank's existing capital buffers; (2) an unexpected deterioration in the bank's profitability metrics; and (3) a material deterioration in its liquidity or funding position. Negative pressure on the bank's long-term debt and deposit ratings could result from a lowering of its parent's BCA. DETAILED RATING CONSIDERATIONS Data in the following sections is sourced from the 2013 annual report of EBS unless otherwise stated.
PROFITABILITY IS NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY IMPAIRMENT LOSSES AND DELEVERAGING EBS reported a pre-tax loss of EUR272 million in 2013, compared to a loss of EUR828 million in 2012. The 2013 result was driven by the EUR401 million (2012: EUR229 million) loan impairment charges, while the 2012 negative profit was mostly due to a EUR668 million loss on sale of certain loans and advances to customers. The reported net interest margin, which included the fees paid under the ELG scheme, was 113 bps in 2013, 31 bps higher than in 2012 (82 bps), mainly due to the lower cost of retail and wholesale funding. Reported operating expenses went down by EUR11 million (-13%) compared to 2012, primarily driven by gains on the pension plan. As a consequences and also owing to higher income, the reported normalised cost-to-income ratio went down to 42% (2012: 54%). We expect profitability to improve in 2014 and 2015, owing to improving economic environment, lower impairment charges and further decrease in cost of funding. ASSET QUALITY OF MORTGAGES REMAINS AN ISSUE EBS's stock of impaired loans has increased to EUR3.3 billion at end-2013, or 25% of gross loans, from EUR3 billion at end-2012, mostly as a result of the still challenging, albeit improving, operating environment. The provision coverage of impaired loans was 40.5% at end-2013 (2012: 31%). At end-2013, the core portfolio consisted of EUR12.5 billion of owner-occupier residential mortgages, 23.3% of which are more than 90 days in arrears and/ or impaired (up from 20.0% at end-2012). Of the total owner-occupier mortgage loan balances 9% were in some kind of forbearance arrangement at end-2013 (2012: 10.4%). The noncore portfolio decreased to EUR836 million, or 6.2% of gross loans, from EUR886 million, or 6.4% of gross loans, at end-2012. The non-core portfolio represented exposure to residential buy-to-let (68.8%) and commercial mortgage loans (31.2%). CAPITAL POSITION SUFFICIENT BUT DEPENDS ON AIB The losses reported in recent years led to the injection of capital from the government in 2010 and then the 2011 PCAR process required EBS to raise a total of EUR1.5 billion, including a buffer of EUR0.3 billion. The requirement was met in July 2011 when AIB took over EBS and the Irish Government provided the EUR1.5bn to AIB. Capital is now managed at the AIB level and we expect AIB to ensure that EBS remains adequately capitalised in line with the regulatory requirements. At end-2013 EBS had a core tier 1 capital ratio of 9.5%, up from 7.9% at end-2012, including the EUR330 million AIB injected into EBS in 2013 to offset some of the losses due to loan impairments. IMPROVING FUNDING PROFILE BACKED BY A LARGE CUSTOMER DEPOSITS BASE ECB funding accounted for 7.5% of total funding of EBS at end-2013 (down from 16% in 2012), which represents an improvement compared to past years. The central bank's funds were replaced with parental funding, as these increased to 5.1% of total funding at end-2013 (2012:0.1%). Customer deposits went down by 8.1% in 2013 to EUR9.3 billion (2012: EUR10.1 billion), primarily because of a strategy of optimisation of cost of funding. However these funds remain the main source of funding, accounting for 71.9% (2012: 67%) of total funding. This decrease mainly drove the increase in loans-to-deposits ratio to 143.9% (2012: 137.4%). Global Local Currency Deposit Rating (Joint Default Analysis) EBS's long-term global local currency (GLC) deposit rating is Ba2 based on Moody's assessment of a high probability of continued systemic support, through its parent. Consequently, there is a two-notch uplift for EBS's deposit rating from its baseline credit assessment. The rating currently carries a negative outlook. Notching Considerations As detailed above unguaranteed senior unsecured debt is rated Ba3, incorporating one-notch uplift from the standalone assessment of the bank. This reflects Moody's moderate expectation of systemic support coming from the Irish government to its parent and EBS and economic prospects for the recovering Irish economy. Foreign Currency Deposit Rating Moody's has assigned Ba2/NP ratings to the foreign currency deposits of EBS. Foreign Currency Debt Rating
Moody's has assigned Ba3/NP ratings to the senior foreign currency debt of EBS. Rating Factors EBS Ltd Rating Factors [1] A B C D E Total Score Trend Qualitative Factors (50%) D+ Factor: Franchise Value D- Market share and sustainability x Geographical diversification x Earnings stability x Earnings Diversification [2] Factor: Risk Positioning D Corporate Governance [2] - Ownership and Organizational Complexity - Key Man Risk - Insider and Related-Party Risks Controls and Risk Management x - Risk Management x - Controls x Financial Reporting Transparency x - Global Comparability x - Frequency and Timeliness x - Quality of Financial Information x Credit Risk Concentration -- -- -- -- -- - Borrower Concentration -- -- -- -- -- - Industry Concentration -- -- -- -- -- Liquidity Management x Market Risk Appetite x Factor: Operating Environment B- Economic Stability x Integrity and Corruption x Legal System x Financial Factors (50%) D Factor: Profitability E+ PPI % Average RWA (Basel II) 0.99% Net Income % Average RWA (Basel II) -3.96% Factor: Liquidity E (Market Funds - Liquid Assets) % Total Assets 21.33% Liquidity Management x Factor: Capital Adequacy B+ Tier 1 Ratio (%) (Basel II) 8.99% Tangible Common Equity % RWA (Basel II) 8.76% Factor: Efficiency B Cost / Income Ratio 50.11% Factor: Asset Quality E Problem Loans % Gross Loans 22.78% Problem Loans % (Equity + LLR) 180.22% Lowest Combined Financial Factor Score (15%) E Economic Insolvency Override D- Aggregate BFSR Score D-
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