ZION - Zions' Ratings Reiterated by Moody's Outlook Stable | Benzinga
Zions Bancorporation's (NASDAQ: ZION) ratings and outlook have been affirmed by Moody's Ratings, a division of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO). The reiteration reflects the bank's solid performance and underlying challenges. This affirmation includes the company's standalone Baseline Credit Assessment, Adjusted BCA of baa1 and a long-term issuer rating of Baa2. The ratings affirm the bank's stability despite some ongoing issues.
Further, the outlook for Zions' long-term issuer rating and long-term deposit rating remains stable.
Key Factors Behind the Affirmation
Strong Deposit Franchise and Asset Quality:
Moody's acknowledges Zions' robust deposit base, sound asset quality and favorable liquidity profile. These strengths are essential in maintaining its credit ratings.
Per the rating agency, Zions has shown improvement in its capitalization, with its tangible common equity (TCE) to risk-weighted assets (RWA) ratio increasing to 10.0% as of Mar 31, 2024, from 8.9% at the end of 2022. However, the company's commercial real estate (CRE) concentration remains a concern, which Moody's views as a potential risk due to its inherent volatility.
Liquidity and Funding Improvements:
Moody's noted that Zions has made ...