Press release: Fitch revises Leonteq's outlook to Positive
EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Leonteq AG / Key word(s): Rating PRESS RELEASE | FITCH REVISES LEONTEQ'S OUTLOOK TO POSITIVE Zurich, 2 November 2021 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Leonteq AG (SIX: LEON) announced today that Fitch has revised Leonteq's outlook to Positive from Stable and affirmed its investment grade rating at "BBB-". The rating agency Fitch Ratings Ltd. has revised the outlook on Leonteq AG's, Leonteq Securities AG's and Leonteq Securities AG's (Guernsey Branch) long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed them at "BBB-". The outlook revision primarily reflects Fitch's view that after pandemic-related disruption, Leonteq is now in a better position to implement its strategy of increasing operational scale and further improving business diversification, increasing its balance sheet-light revenue base (including more hedging via its capital-efficient Smart Hedging Issuance Platform, SHIP) and further strengthening the group's capitalisation. According to Fitch, the affirmation of the long-term IDRs assigned to Leonteq reflect its adequate capitalisation (including growing capital base), sound risk management systems, solid liquidity management, moderate and well-managed credit risk exposure, relatively resilient earnings base as well as its sophisticated and scalable structured products issuance platform. Fitch additionally states that the IDRs also reflect Leonteq's fairly concentrated franchise and the group's moderate, albeit increasing, size (primarily in terms of turnover and revenue). According to Fitch, management is addressing these constraints by improving issuance partner diversification and transaction volumes, improving balance sheet efficiency by further rolling out SHIP and other capital efficient revenue sources and maintaining Leonteq's capital base above CHF 800 million. Fitch views these ambitions as achievable in the short to medium term, which is reflected in the Positive Outlook on Leonteq's Long-Term IDR. Further information can be found at: www.fitchratings.com CONTACT Investor Relations LEONTEQ DISCLAIMER This press release may contain specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like "believe", "assume", "expect", "target" "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) general market, macroeconomic, governmental and regulatory trends, (2) movements in securities markets, exchange rates and interest rates and (3) other risks and uncertainties inherent in our business. In addition, currently, it is very difficult to provide a meaningful prediction on how the governmental actions in response to the ongoing outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and other COVID-19 related factors will affect Leonteq's operations and how long such measures will remain in place. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused, and may continue to cause, uncertainty, economic instability and a significant decrease of total economic output in the affected areas and globally. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the general economic environment in the markets in which Leonteq operates remain uncertain and could be significant. Against the background of these uncertainties, you should not rely on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or their respective bodies, executives, employees and advisers assume any responsibility to prepare or disseminate any supplement, amendment, update or revision to any of the information, opinions or forward-looking statements contained in this press release or to adapt them to any change in events, conditions or circumstances, except as required by applicable law or regulation. End of ad hoc announcement |
1245217 02-Nov-2021 CET/CEST