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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

 

--Fitch ups Bank of India's viability rating to 'bb' from 'bb-' 

--Fitch affirms Bank of India's long term rtg at 'BBB-'; outlook stable 

--Fitch ups Union Bank of India's viability rating to 'bb' from 'bb-' 

--Fitch affirms Union Bank of India long term rtg at 'BBB-'; outlook stable 

 

NEW DELHI – Fitch Ratings Ltd. Wednesday upgraded the viability rating of Union Bank of India and Bank of India to 'bb' from 'bb-' on the back of improvements in the lenders' risk profile, reflected in improved financial performance, including asset quality, capitalisation and profitability. "We have positive outlooks on most rating factor scores, which mirror the outlook on the operating environment and reflect the potential for further improvements if the OE (operating environment) score is revised upwards," the rating agency said.

 

Fitch Ratings also affirmed 'BBB-' long-term issuer default rating of both banks with a stable outlook owing to expectations of a high probability of extraordinary state support, if required. The government owns almost 73% stake in Bank of India and around 75% stake in Union Bank of India. The rating agency has also affirmed both the state-owned banks' government support rating at 'bbb-' and the short-term issuer default ratings at 'F3'.

 

The rating agency expects Union Bank of India's current profile status to sustain business and profit generation, particularly in an improving operating environment. It also revised Union Bank's risk profile score to 'bb-' from 'b+'. "This reflects greater loan diversification, improved underwriting standards and risk controls that have reduced corporate loan risk and lowered fresh impaired loan formation, and limited exposure to unsecured retail loans," Fitch said.

 

Union Bank of India's net profit for the December quarter rose nearly 9% on year to INR 50.17 billion. Sequentially, the net profit rose by over 18%. The bank's global advances rose 7.1% on year to INR 10.17 trillion as of Dec. 31, while global deposits increased 3.4% to INR 12.23 trillion. 

 

Fitch Ratings also revised Bank of India's risk profile score to 'bb-' from 'b+', reflecting the lender's more diversified loan mix, limited exposure to unsecured retail loans, and improved underwriting standards and risk controls. It also revised Bank of India's asset-quality score to 'bb-' from 'b+'. 

 

Bank of India's net profit for the December quarter rose nearly 8% on year and 6% on quarter to INR 27.05 billion. The bank's net non-performing assets ratio fell to 0.60% as of Dec. 31 from 0.65% a quarter earlier. 

 

On Wednesday, Bank of India's shares ended at INR 175.58, almost flat from the previous day, on the National Stock Exchange. Shares of Union Bank of India closed at INR 199.30, down 0.7%. End

 

Reported by Pratiksha

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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