PSIS Obtains Credit Rating

PSIS Obtains Credit Rating

PSIS today announced that they have acquired a credit rating from Standard & Poor’s.

Until recently, only banks were required to have a credit rating as a precondition of bank registration. Recently, the Government indicated that by the year 2010 every financial institution will be required to have a credit rating.

PSIS’s Chief Financial Office, Simon White, said today: “We think this is a wise provision and PSIS moved quickly to obtain a credit rating. This process was completed earlier today.

“We chose Standard & Poor’s as the agency to complete our credit rating because of their international standing as a company that specialises in financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, risk evaluations, investment research and data.”

The company has assigned PSIS a BB+ credit rating.

Standard & Poor’s said the rating “reflects the company’s very good asset quality, supported by a relatively low-risk lending profile in the New Zealand non-bank loans market, strong customer focus underpinned by a loyal customer base, and good capital adequacy on a risk-weighted basis.

“In the context of the New Zealand non-bank deposit taking sector, a BB+ is a sound rating.”

A Standard & Poor’s rating is an opinion of the probability of default. Based on Standard & Poor’s historical default studies, a BB+ rating indicates that over a 12 month period, there is a 99% probability that entities rated BB+, including PSIS, will meet all their obligations in full and on time.

Standard & Poor’s also assigned a rating outlook. This assesses the potential direction of a long-term credit rating over the medium term (typically six months to two years). In determining a rating outlook, consideration is given to any changes in the economic and/or fundamental business conditions.

PSIS has been assigned a “stable” outlook.

ENDS

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