Chennai headquartered public sector bank, Indian Overseas Bank, has reported to the stock exchanges that rating agency CARE has revised downwards its ratings for the bank's tier I and tier II bond issues.
The ratings for Basel III compliant Tier-I Perpetual Bond issue (Rs 1,000 crore) has been revised to Care A from Care A +. The ratings for Tier II bond (Series VIII and Series X) of Rs 200 crore each have been revised from Care AA to Care AA-.
The revision has happened primarily on account of moderation in asset quality parameters in FY 2015 and the consequent moderation in profitability and lower level of capital adequacy. The bank said that the ratings continue to factor in majority government ownership, its long standing record and strong position in South India.
The bank had reported a staggering drop of 95 per cent in its profits for the first quarter of this fiscal at just Rs 15 crore. This followed a steep increase in non performing assets during the quarter.