OREANDA-NEWS. August 04, 2015.  Fitch Ratings has today affirmed and simultaneously withdrawn HSBC Bank (Chile)'s long-term foreign- and local-currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of 'A'. Fitch has chosen to withdraw the bank`s international ratings for commercial reasons because the bank has no outstanding debt in the international capital markets. Fitch will continue to rate HSBC Bank (Chile) on the National Scale and has affirmed the bank's National ratings. A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this press release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

NATIONAL RATINGS
HSBC Bank (Chile)'s National ratings reflect the potential support from its parent company, HSBC Holdings Plc. (long-term IDR 'AA-'/Stable Outlook), even though it is considered by Fitch to be of limited importance to its shareholder because of its small size within the group and in its local market. HSBC Bank (Chile)'s National long-term rating also reflects its relative position of creditworthiness within the Chilean market.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

NATIONAL RATINGS

HSBC Bank (Chile)'s National Scale ratings could be affected by a downgrade of HSBC.

HSBC Bank (Chile) is small and focused on commercial and global banking and markets business, targeting large Chilean companies, global corporate and financial institutions offering treasury products, and investment and corporate banking services, benefitting from the size, diversification and credit quality of its parent.

Fitch has affirmed and withdrawn the following ratings:

--Foreign- and local-currency long-term IDR at 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Foreign- and local currency short-term IDR at 'F1';
--Support '1'.

At the same time, Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

--National long-term rating at 'AAA (cl)'; Outlook Stable;
--National short-term rating at 'N1+ (cl)'.