OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Updates Rating Criteria for Infrastructure and Project Finance Paris/London Fitch Ratings has updated its rating criteria for infrastructure and project finance. The updated criteria are expected to have no impact on existing ratings.

The changes mainly relate to completion risk and project finance holdcos.

We have implemented minor changes to the completion risk appendix to take into account instances where the risk is reduced by excess liquidity for simple projects, and where project completion is well underway.

Fitch has also included a new appendix, specific to project finance holding companies (holdcos). This details how Fitch assesses the cash flows upstreamed from project companies (opcos) to the holdco, how metrics are calculated at holdco level, and how ratings are derived from relevant sector criteria (taking into account risks introduced by lock up covenants at opco level).

Fitch will apply the revised approach to analyse both new and existing ratings for infrastructure and project finance, in combination with relevant sector-specific criteria when available.

The previous version of the criteria, published 25 September 2015, has been retired.