S&P Frowns on Corpbanca’s Colombia Buy

S&P has lowered Corpbanca’s rating to BBB+ from A minus, it says, after it completed its purchase of Santander Colombia. The acquisition “resulted in a weakening for the bank’s capitalization levels,” the agency says. It is possible that the capital injections given to the bank by shareholders, projected dividend reductions, and better results from the incorporation of the Colombian operation may mitigate the effects on the banks capital strength, S&P says. The outlook is stable. Corpbanca agreed to buy 95% of Santander Colombia from Santander in December, Corpbanca agreed to acquire nearly all of Santander’s Colombia unit, in a deal valued at $1.23bn.