Moody’s Cuts Citadele Bank Credit Rating, Keeps Negative Outlook

Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Citadele Banka AS, the state-owned Latvian retail lender formed from Parex Banka, was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service on deteriorating asset quality and low capital levels.

Moody’s cut Citadele’s long-term deposit rating to B2 from Ba3 and assigned a negative outlook, the London-based company said in an e-mailed statement today.

Citadele was split from Parex, once the Baltic nation’s second-biggest lender, after a run on deposits triggered a government rescue in 2008.

“The downgrade reflects the continued deterioration in asset quality since the bank’s inception,” Moody’s said.

--Editors: Alan Crosby, Andrew Langley

To contact the reporter on this story: Milda Seputyte in Vilnius at mseputyte@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net