KBRA Publishes Ratings for Western Alliance Trust Company, N.A.
5 Apr 2024 | New York
KBRA publishes its Issuer rating of BBB+ for Western Alliance Trust Company, N.A. (“WATC” or “the company”), an OCC-chartered, non-depository national trust bank that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL; “parent company”), for which KBRA maintains a senior unsecured debt rating of BBB+. On November 17, 2023, KBRA assigned an Issuer rating of BBB+ to WATC on an unpublished basis. The Outlook for the rating is Stable.
The Issuer rating of WATC is based principally on the company’s ownership, as well as the unconditional guarantee of its obligations, by ultimate parent, WAL. Accordingly, any changes to WAL’s ratings or the existing Stable Outlook for the parent company’s long-term ratings, would be accompanied by the same action for WATC’s rating. With this key credit consideration noted, despite WATC’s short operating history (which began during 2023), and modest capitalization ($52 million of equity at YE23) in comparison to WAL’s, we consider the subsidiary’s operating plan to be a favorable one. If operations are well executed as we currently expect, WATC’s financial contribution and strategic importance should increase over time.
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