Credit rating

Long-Term:  BBB+
Short-Term: A-2 
Outlook:       Stable

On 17 December 2019, Standard & Poor's Global Ratings affirmed its long-term counterparty credit rating on Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited at 'BBB+', and affirmed the short-term rating at 'A-2'. The outlook remains stable.

Standard and Poor's commented that they remain of the view that the Bank's capitalization is a strength to its creditworthiness and expect credit losses to remain low given its predominantly low risk and well-secured mortgaged loan book.

The Bank’s community banking model provides it a point of differentiation to regional and major bank peers, and allows it to compete with larger institutions despite the pricing power and cost advantages they have through economies of scale.

Long-Term:  A-
Short-Term: F2 
Outlook:       Negative

On 13 May 2020, Fitch Ratings, the international ratings agency affirmed Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd's long term rating at 'A-', and affirmed the short term rating of 'F2' and its support rating of '3', and the Bank's viability rating of 'A-'. The outlook was downgraded from stable to negative.

Fitch commented that the operating environment in Australia has been significantly affected by coronavirus.

As a result, Fitch Ratings believes BEN’s financial performance, especially asset quality and profitability, will deteriorate considerably over the next two years.

Long-Term:  A3
Short-Term: P-2 
Outlook:       Stable

On 2 November 2020, Moody’s affirmed its long-term issuer rating at ‘A3’ and short term rating at ‘P-2’, with a stable outlook.

Moody’s commented that the ratings reflect the Bank's strong credit profile characterized by its well-developed franchise centered around community banking, conservative management historically focused on low-risk lending, stable asset quality, strong funding structure and good capital adequacy.

Moody’s commented that earnings pressure for Australian Banks will intensify in 2020 as a result of the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak.