OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has today withdrawn DFCC Vardhana Bank PLC's (DVB) National Long-Term Rating of 'AA-(lka)' with Stable Outlook. At the same time, Fitch has also withdrawn the 'AA-(lka)' rating on DVB's Basel II-compliant senior debentures and the 'A+(lka)' rating on its Basel II-compliant subordinated debentures.

Fitch is withdrawing the ratings as DVB has merged with DFCC Bank PLC (DFCC, B+/AA-(lka)/Stable) and no longer exists, leaving DFCC as the surviving entity. DFCC has assumed the liabilities of DVB, including the debentures. Accordingly, Fitch will no longer provide rating or analytical coverage for DVB.

The rating action follows DFCC's announcement on 1 October 2015 regarding the merger. DFCC has a licence to operate as a commercial bank from 1 October 2015.

Fitch affirmed DFCC's ratings on 8 July 2015. Fitch's view of DFCC is not affected by the merger because the ratings are already based on the consolidated credit profile.

Contact:

Primary Analyst
Rukshana Thalgodapitiya
Vice President
+ 94 11 254 1900
Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited
Level 15-04 East Tower
World Trade Center
Colombo 01, Sri Lanka

Secondary Analyst
Jeewanthi Malagala
Analyst
+94 11 254 1900

Committee Chairperson
Sabine Bauer
Senior Director
+852 2263 9966

Date of Relevant Rating Committee: 7 July 2015

Media Relations: Bindu Menon, Mumbai, Tel: +91 22 4000 1727, Email: bindu.menon@fitchratings.com.

Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com

DFCC has a 1.78% equity stake in Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. No shareholder other than Fitch, Inc. is involved in the day-to-day rating operations of, or credit reviews undertaken by, Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd.

Note to editors: Fitch's National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as 'AAA(lka)' for National ratings in Sri Lanka. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.

Applicable Criteria
Evaluating Corporate Governance (pub. 12 Dec 2012)
Global Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 20 Mar 2015)
National Scale Ratings Criteria (pub. 30 Oct 2013)

Additional Disclosures
Solicitation Status
Endorsement Policy
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06 Oct 2015 8:02 AM GMT/UTC

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