DBRS withdraws Rating Canadian Credit Union Centrals and Desjardins Group; Reissues Bank Methodology

DBRS Limited, DBRS, Inc. and DBRS Ratings Limited (collectively, DBRS) has today withdrawn the methodology: Rating Canadian Credit Union Centrals and Desjardins Group. This action was taken because no entities are now being rated using this methodology. To rate the entities previously covered by this methodology, DBRS is now utilizing the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations and the related DBRS Criteria: Support Assessment for Banks and Banking Organisations, as well as Rating Bank Capital Securities - Subordinated, Hybrid, Preferred & Contingent Capital.

The change in the usage of methodology was made to ensure consistency in rating similar types of financial institutions in different jurisdictions. In taking this step, DBRS views the use of the global banking methodology as enhancing the analysis of these groups of cooperative financial institutions and their central entities.

DBRS today also confirmed the ratings of Central 1 Credit Union (Central 1), Credit Union Central Alberta Limited, Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan (SaskCentral) and Caisse centrale Desjardins, Capital Desjardins Inc. and Desjardins Group.

DBRS also noted that the ratings of two related entities were unchanged following these actions: Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, rated R-1 (low) with a Stable Trend, which is a member of Central 1, and Concentra Financial Services Association, rated R-1 (low) and A (low) with Stable Trends, which is majority owned by SaskCentral.

DBRS also reissued the Global Methodology for Rating Banks and Banking Organisations (Global Banking Methodology) and the DBRS Criteria: Support Assessment for Banks and Banking Organisations (Support Criteria). For the Global Banking Methodology, language was inserted to specifically include credit unions among cooperatives on page 6. Also, language was added in this version to address the scope and limitations of the methodology that had been inadvertently omitted from the prior version. The Support Criteria no longer includes Appendix A3: Canadian Credit Union Centrals, Credit Unions and Desjardins Group and now has language that specifically includes credit unions among cooperatives on page 11.

None of the changes are material and no DBRS ratings have been changed as a result of the revisions.

DBRS criteria and methodologies are publicly available on its website at www.dbrs.com.

For further information, please contact:

Roger Lister
Managing Director, Chief Credit Officer – Financial Institutions and Sovereign Group
+1 212 806 3231
rlister@dbrs.com

Alan G. Reid
Group Managing Director – Financial Institutions and Sovereign Group
+1 212 806 3232
areid@dbrs.com