Moody’s upgrades Permanent TSB ratings after capital raise

Moody’s has upgraded Permanent TSB’s deposit and senior unsecured ratings on the back of its recent €525m capital raise.

The ratings agency has elevated PTSB’s deposit rating to B1 from B3 while its senior unsecured rating has been upped from Caa1 to B2.

The move comes weeks after the majority State-owned lender raised €400m through the sale of 88.9bn ordinary shares while a further €125m was also raised via a bond sale.

These placements — combined with at least €330m in capital benefit generated by asset sales, improved financial performance, and technical adjustments — will help the bank address the €855m capital shortfall that resulted from the adverse stress-test scenario of the ECB, Moody’s said.

As a result of the raise, the Government’s stake in PTSB has been reduced to 75%.

Paul Byrne, group treasurer at PTSB, said; “It’s very encouraging that the progress we are making is being recognised by Moody as well as by the market itself.”

The move by Moody’s is a significant boost for the bank which earlier this year reported a €48m pre-tax loss for 2014.