The international rating agency Moody's has lowered its credit outlook for Switzerland's embattled Raiffeisen, based on the group’s poor corporate governance practices.
Moody's announced its latest ratings on the Raiffeisen group in a report Thursday. The agency maintained its long-term credit rating for the Swiss cooperative bank at Aa2, but lowered the outlook to negative.
The downgrade follows the Swiss market regulator Finma’s investigation into Raiffeisen’s corporate governance practices, with the focus on the clash of interests of former head Pierin Vincenz, has spent the last seven weeks remanded in a Zurich jail amid a criminal investigation.
While Moody’s doesn‘t expect any fine to affect Raiffeisen’s credit worthiness, it points to the potential risks to the group’s reputation. Raiffeisen said Moody’s would restore its «stable» outlook rating once the Finma probe has been closed.
