Agencies Concerned About Corpbanca Move

S&P and Moody’s see possible negative credit consequences from Corpbanca’s agreement to acquire 100% of Colombia’s Helm Bank for $1.28bn announced this week. S&P has placed Corpbanca’s BBB+ ratings and Inversiones CorpGroup Interhold’s BB ratings on negative watch, it says, and Moody’s has changed the outlook Corpbanca’s Baa1 mark and CorpGroup Interhold’s Ba3 to negative from stable, it says. Noting the potential impact of increased exposure to Colombia, S&P plans to evaluate the impact of the acquisition on Corpbanca’s capital position. Moody’s expects “negative pressure on the bank’s financial fundamentals as a result of its second large cross border bank acquisition in less than 12 months.”