COVID-19 Related Financial Institution and Sovereign Rating Actions

The impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has considerably dislocated the world economy and drastically altered the course of most industries and companies through, among other things, forced shutdown of operations, sharp declines in demand for products and services, altered consumer behaviour, as well as supply chain and labour supply shocks. While considerable uncertainty remains with respect to the intensity and duration of the shock, DBRS Morningstar has revised the rating cases of many Financial Institution and Sovereign issuers to incorporate the expected impact of the pandemic, consistent with our forward-looking rating philosophy. The situation remains fluid, but we expect this process to continue over the months to come, leading to additional negative rating actions.