Shawmut National Corp.: Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. upgraded Shawmut National Corp. and its lower-tier holding companies, Shawmut Corp. and Hartford National Corp., as well as the ratings of its two subsidiary banks, Boston-based Shawmut Bank and Hartford-based Shawmut Bank Connecticut.
The senior debt rating of Shawmut Corp. and Hartford National was raised to BBB from BBB-minus. The subordinated debt rating of Shawmut National Corp., Shawmut Corp.. and Hartford National Corp. was upgraded to an investment grade BBB-minus from a junk rated BB-plus. The preferred stock rating of Shawmut National Corp. was raised to BB-plus from BB.
The long-term deposit rating for Shawmut Bank and Shawmut Bank Connecticut was upgraded to BBB-plus from BBB. while the short-term deposit rating was reaffirmed at Duff-2.
The rating upgrades recognize the continued improvement in the underlying fundamentals of the corporation, including earnings, asset quality, capitalization, and liquidity.
The progression in the recovery from severe asset-quality problems has evolved from a position of identifying and containing loan problems to one of building core earnings power and establishing an infrastructure to improve the organization's competitive position, the agency said.
