Union Bank of India affirmed at 'BBB-', VR upgraded

Union Bank of India [BSE:UNIONBANK] announced that Fitch Ratings affirmed its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook on March 11, 2025. In addition, Fitch upgraded the bank's Viability Rating (VR) to 'bb-' from 'b+'. The upgrade reflects ongoing improvements in Union's risk profile and recent financial performance. Fitch views the bank's key strengths as being its large franchise in India and improvements to the risk profile, reflecting better loan diversification and reduced corporate loan risk. Fitch expects the Indian economy to grow over 6% in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, driven by domestic demand and government capex. The bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio rose by 190bp to 15.5% (including profit) in 9MFY25.