Fitch Affirms Webster Financial Corp. Ratings: Revises Outlook to Stable.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has affirmed the long-term issuer default rating (IDR IDR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Indonesian Rupiah. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) and short-term issuer rating for Webster Financial Corporation (WBS WBS - Work Breakdown Structure ) at 'BBB' and 'F2', respectively. All other ratings at Webster Bank Webster Bank is a bank based based out of Waterbury, Connecticut. It is the largest Connecticut based bank and the 42nd largest in the United States. History Webster was founded in 1935 by Harold Webster Smith. , Webster Capital Trust I - II, and Webster Preferred Capital Corp have been affirmed. At the same time, Fitch has revised the Rating Outlook to Stable from Negative. A complete list of ratings follows this release. The rating affirmation and revision in Rating Outlook reflect WBS' improved and solid capital base, good liquidity position, sound asset quality and improved financial flexibility. Constraining con·strain tr.v. con·strained, con·strain·ing, con·strains 1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object. See Synonyms at force. 2. the ratings are its adequate earnings generation and growing yet somewhat limited regional geographic franchise. In May 2004, WBS acquired the Swansea, MA based FirstFed America Bancorp, Inc (FAB; $2.6 billion in assets), which layered in a sizeable level of goodwill and required the issuance of additional debt to support the deal. Fitch revised WBS' and its banking subsidiary's Rating Outlook to Negative from Stable, as the FAB deal significantly reduced WBS' tangible equity position and financial flexibility. Since the acquisition, WBS has stayed away from making sizeable acquisitions, which has afforded it the opportunity to re-build its tangible equity position. Contributions to retained earnings Retained Earnings The percentage of net earnings not paid out in dividends, but retained by the company to be reinvested in its core business or to pay debt. It is recorded under shareholders equity on the balance sheet. have bolstered WBS' tangible equity ratio to 5.5%, up from a low 4.7% at the close of the FAB transaction. Moreover, the company's double leverage has improved and resides at a manageable 112%. Although none is imminent or expected, management has stated that going forward, and after reaching their targeted TE/TA ratio of 5.5%, they will consider acquisition opportunities. It should be noted that a sizeable acquisition, particularly if accompanied by material re-leveraging, could place similar pressures back on the company and possibly impact its ratings. Fitch has affirmed the following ratings and revised the Rating Outlook to Stable: Webster Financial Corporation --Issuer default rating 'BBB'; --Short-term 'F2'; --Long-term 'BBB'; --Individual 'B/C'; --Support '5'. Webster Bank --Issuer default rating 'BBB'; --Short-term 'F2'; --Short-term deposit 'F2'; --Long-term 'BBB'; --Subordinated debt 'BBB-'; --Long-term deposit 'BBB+'; --Individual 'B/C'; --Support '5'. Fitch has affirmed the following ratings: Webster Capital Trust I - II --Preferred stock 'BB+'. Webster Preferred Capital Corp --Preferred stock 'BB+'. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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