Moody’s Ratings has taken rating action on six Bangladeshi banks, including BRAC Bank, City Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Eastern Bank, Mercantile Bank and Premier Bank.
Earlier on Monday (18), Moody’s lowered Bangladesh’s long-term ratings to B2 from B1, marking the country’s second consecutive downgrade in less than two years, while affirming its short-term ratings at “Not Prime”.
They also revised its outlook to “negative” from “stable” for the first time in 14 years since Bangladesh began receiving ratings from Moody’s in 2010.
The downgrade and shift to a negative outlook could raise borrowing costs for both the government and private sector, making access to international funds more expensive amid high inflation.
The international rating agency has also revised Bangladesh’s GDP growth forecast, lowering it to 4.5% from 6.3% for the current fiscal year and to 5.8% from 6% for the next.
– The Business Standard
