OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has affirmed the National Long-Term Ratings on five Thai subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions.

The following have been affirmed at 'AAA(tha)' with Stable Outlook:
- Bank of China (Thai) Public Company Limited (BOCT),
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Thai) Public Company Limited (ICBCT), and
- ICBC (Thai) Leasing Company Limited (ICBCTL).

Easy Buy Public Company Limited (EB) and Capital Nomura Securities Public Company Limited (CNS) have been affirmed at 'AA(tha)' with Stable Outlook and 'AA-(tha)' with Stable Outlook, respectively.

A full list of rating actions is included at the end of this commentary.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR DEBT
The National Ratings of BOCT, ICBCT, EB and CNS are driven by Fitch's view that these are strategically important subsidiaries of their respective parents - namely Bank of China Ltd. (BOC; A/Stable), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC; A/Stable), ACOM Co., Ltd. (ACOM; A-/Stable), and Nomura Holdings Inc. (NH; A-/Stable/Viability Rating of bbb). This is because the parents have large stakes in and control over the subsidiaries, and there is name- and brand-sharing, management integration and histories of support. Hence Fitch believes that there would be a high probability of extraordinary support for the subsidiaries if required.

The National Ratings of ICBCTL are equalised with that of ICBCT to reflect Fitch's view that it is a core subsidiary of the bank. ICBCTL is a key part of the bank's strategy, accounting for around 30% of consolidated loans and 44% of consolidated revenues in 1H15.

The senior debt ratings for ICBCTL (Long-Term and Short-Term) and EB are consistent with the National Ratings at these entities, in accordance with Fitch's criteria.

GUARANTEED BONDS
The ratings on EB's and ICBCTL's bonds guaranteed by their respective parents, ACOM and ICBCT, are based entirely on an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee provided by the parents.

The rating on ICBCTL's guaranteed bonds is the same as ICBCT's National Long-Term Rating.

EB's guaranteed bonds are based ACOM's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'A-', which is at the same level with Thailand's Long-Term Local Currency IDRof 'A-' and correlates to the National Long-Term rating of 'AAA(tha)'.

The Stable Outlooks of the guaranteed bonds are consistent with the Outlooks of the guarantors.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
NATIONAL RATINGS AND SENIOR DEBT
The National Ratings on BOCT, ICBCT, and ICBCTL are already at the top end of the scale and no upside is possible. However, the ratings on these subsidiaries could be downgraded if the ratings of their respective parents are downgraded.

The changes in the ratings or credit profile at the parents of EB and CNS could similarly affect the National Ratings.

An indication of material weakening of parents' propensity to provide extraordinary support to their respective subsidiaries could result in a downgrade in their National Ratings. For example, this could be indicated by a significant reduction in ownership or level of commitment to provide financial support. However, Fitch does not view this as likely in the near term.

GUARANTEED BONDS
The ratings of EB's and ICBCTL's guaranteed bonds are the highest on the national scale; therefore there is no potential rating upside. EB's guaranteed bonds could be downgraded if ACOM's Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR falls below Thailand's Long-Term Local-Currency IDR of 'A-', while ICBCTL's guaranteed bonds could be affected by any negative ratings action on ICBCT.

The rating actions are as follows:

BOCT:
- National Long-Term Rating affirmed at 'AAA(tha)'; Outlook Stable
- National Short-Term Rating affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'

ICBCT:
- National Long-Term Rating affirmed at 'AAA(tha)'; Outlook Stable
- National Short-Term Rating affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'

ICBCTL:
- National Long-Term Rating affirmed at 'AAA(tha)'; Outlook Stable
- National Short-Term Rating affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'
- National Long-Term rating on bonds guaranteed by ICBCT affirmed at 'AAA(tha)' ; Outlook Stable
- National Long-Term rating on senior unsecured bonds affirmed at 'AAA(tha)'
- National Short-Term rating on unsecured unsubordinated debenture programme affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'

EB:
- National Long-Term Rating affirmed at 'AA(tha)'; Outlook Stable
- National Short-Term Rating affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'
- National Long-Term rating on senior unsecured bonds affirmed at 'AA(tha)'
- National Long-Term rating on bonds guaranteed by ACOM affirmed at 'AAA(tha)' ; Outlook Stable

CNS:
- National Long-Term Rating affirmed at 'AA-(tha)'; Outlook Stable
- National Short-Term Rating affirmed at 'F1+(tha)'.