Siam Commercial Bank sustains financial profile

Siam Commercial Bank has maintained its strong financial profile despite political unrest and export contraction that has hit the Thai economy. This is according to Standard & Poor's credit analyst Geeta Chugh, who added that SCB's financial profile remains the strongest among its domestic peers. The bank's business profile also strengthened with about a 15 percent market share of deposits.

This led Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to revise its outlook on Siam Commercial Bank Public to positive from stable. It has also raised the ASEAN scale long-term rating on SCB to 'axA+' from 'axA'. At the same time, it affirmed the 'BBB/A-2' counterparty credit rating and the 'axA-1' ASEAN scale short-term rating on SCB.

"Despite the recent global financial dislocation, SCB's earnings remain the highest among domestic peers and good when compared with international peers. The bank's asset quality has also been better than the industry. In our view, the bank's capitalisation also remains healthy, with the ratio of adjusted total equity to adjusted assets of 9 percent as on September 30, 2009," said Standard & Poor's.

The outlook on the rating is positive. The rating could be raised if the bank is able to maintain its current financial profile, especially asset quality and capitalisation, over the next 12 to 18 months.