OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has downgraded Barclays Bank plc's, Lloyds Bank plc's, and Bradford & Bingley's (B&B) notes issued with the guarantee of the UK sovereign to 'AA' from 'AA+'.

The downgrade follows the downgrade of the UK sovereign Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'AA' from 'AA+' (see Fitch Downgrades United Kingdom to 'AA'; Outlook Negative, 27 June 2016 available on www. fitchratings. com). No other bank rating is affected by this rating action, a full list of which is at the end of this comment.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The ratings of the UK government-guaranteed senior debt are in line with the UK sovereign rating and reflect Fitch's expectation that the government would honour its guarantee if needed.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The ratings of the UK government-guaranteed senior debt are primarily sensitive to changes in the UK sovereign rating.

In the case of B&B, the rating is also sensitive to any material changes to the conditions of the guarantee granted by the UK government to the bank's senior debt.

The rating actions are as follows:

Barclays Bank plc

GBP1.5bn notes issued with NLGS guarantee, XS0768454844: downgraded to 'AA' from 'AA+'

Lloyds Bank plc

GBP1.4bn senior long-term notes issued with NLGS guarantee, XS0778434000: downgraded to 'AA' from 'AA+'

Bradford & Bingley

Senior long-term guaranteed notes, XS0281590488: downgraded to 'AA' from 'AA+'