Fitch Ratings has assigned Bank of China Limited's (BOC, A/Negative/bbb) senior unsecured notes issued by the bank's New York branch under the USD40 billion medium-term note (MTN) programme final ratings of 'A'.

The CNY1 billion, 2.83% notes due in 2026;

The CNY2 billion, 2.85% notes due in 2027.

The net proceeds of the notes will be used for general corporate purposes. The final ratings on the notes are in line with the expected rating assigned on 12 June 2024, and follow the receipt of documents conforming to information already received.

Key Rating Drivers

BOC's New York branch is part of the same legal entity as BOC. Therefore, the notes represent BOC's direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and they are rated in line with its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR).

BOC's IDR is underpinned by Fitch's expectations of a very high probability of support from the Chinese sovereign (A+/Negative) in the event of stress.

Key rating drivers and sensitivities for BOC can be found in its last full commentary, dated 3 June 2024.

Rating Sensitivities

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade

The ratings on the notes would be downgraded if BOC's IDR is downgraded.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade

The ratings on the notes would be upgraded if BOC's IDR is upgraded.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fitch has assigned senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs) of 'BBB (xgs)' to the notes, in line with BOC's Long-Term IDR (xgs), which is in turn aligned with the bank's Viability Rating.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade:

A downgrade of the bank's Long-Term IDR (xgs) would lead to a downgrade of the bank's senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs).

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade:

An upgrade of the bank's Long-Term IDR (xgs) would lead to an upgrade of the bank's senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs).

Date of Relevant Committee

31 May 2024

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.

Public Ratings with Credit Linkage to other ratings

The ratings on the notes issued by BOC's New York branch are equalised with BOC's Long-Term IDR and LongTerm IDR (xgs).

ESG Considerations

BOC has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Financial Transparency, as there are still structural issues around financial transparency and disclosure. These are not captured in headline performance metrics in China, and affect our assessment of the operating environment as well as the financial profile. This has a negative effect on the bank's credit profile, and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3'means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.

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