OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has assigned Santander Consumer Bank AS's (SCB) EUR2.5bn euro medium-term note programme an expected Long-term rating of 'A-(EXP)' and an expected Short-term rating of 'F2(EXP)'.

The final ratings are contingent upon the receipt of final documents conforming to information already received.

The ratings apply only to senior unsecured issuance. It should be noted that there is no assurance that notes issued under the programme will be assigned a rating, or that the rating assigned to a specific issue under the programme will have the same rating as the programme rating.

SCB has a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'A-' with a Stable Outlook and a Short-Term IDR of 'F2'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The programme's ratings are driven by and equalised with SCB's Long - and Short-Term IDRs. Fitch views the likelihood of default on senior unsecured notes under this programme would reflect the likelihood of default of the bank.

The IDRs of SCB are driven by institutional support from and equalised with those of its ultimate and direct parent Banco Santander, S. A. (A-/Stable/a-) and group subsidiary Santander Consumer Finance S. A. (SCF; A-/Stable/bbb+), which is 100%-owned by Banco Santander. Fitch expects Banco Santander to provide support directly or via SCF in case of need.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The EMTN programme's ratings are primarily sensitive to a change to SCB's Long - and Short-Term IDRs.

SCB's IDRs would move in line with Banco Santander's (and hence SCF's) IDRs and are sensitive to the same factors that might drive a change in its ultimate parent's IDRs. While it is not our base case, SCB's ratings would also be sensitive to a change in Fitch's assessment of Banco Santander's propensity to support SCB, particularly should it become significantly less integrated with the group, leading Fitch to no longer view SCB as a core subsidiary. This would result in SCB's IDRs being notched down from those of SCF and Banco Santander.