Rating action

Scope Ratings UK Limited (Scope) has withdrawn its ratings on Totens Sparebank and Totens Sparebank Boligkreditt AS (TSB), for business reasons.

The merger between Totens Sparebank and SpareBank 1 Østlandet was completed on 1 November 2024.

Before being withdrawn, the issuer rating on Totens Sparebank was upgraded to A+/Stable from A-/Positive, to reflect the stronger credit profile of the merged bank. The credit quality of the merged group benefits from i) its positioning as Norway’s fourth largest savings bank focussed on retail and commercial banking activities, primarily in central Eastern Norway; ii) the Norwegian operating environment, which is very supportive of the development of banking activities; iii) the bank’s strong pre-provision income and sound return on equity; iv) solid capitalisation, including adequate buffers above regulatory expectations; v) a stable and diversified funding profile. The group is actively developing its approach to long term sustainability topics.

The issuer rating on TSB was upgraded to reflect Scope’s expectation of full support from its new parent, SpareBank 1 Østlandet, in case of need. With assets of NOK 186bn as of Q3 2024, the merged bank is one of Norway’s largest savings banks with a leading position in the Innlandet region.

The full list of rating actions and rated entities is included below.

All rating actions and rated entities

Totens Sparebank

Issuer rating: Withdrawn. Prior to the withdrawal the rating was upgraded to A+/Stable from A-/Positive.

Preferred senior unsecured debt rating: Withdrawn. Prior to the withdrawal the rating was upgraded to A+/Stable from A-/Positive.

Non-preferred senior unsecured debt rating: Withdrawn. Prior to the withdrawal the rating was upgraded to A/Stable from BBB+/Positive.

Totens Sparebank Boligkreditt AS

Issuer rating: Withdrawn. Prior to the withdrawal the rating was upgraded to A+/Stable from A-/Positive.

Stress testing & cash flow analysis
No stress testing was performed. No cash flow analysis was performed.

Methodology
The methodology used for these Credit Ratings and Outlooks, (Financial Institutions Rating Methodology, 6 February 2024), is available on https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.
Information on the meaning of each Credit Rating category, including definitions of default, recoveries, Outlooks and Under Review, can be viewed in ‘Rating Definitions - Credit Ratings, Ancillary and Other Services’, published on https://www.scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Historical default rates of the entities rated by Scope Ratings can be viewed in the Credit Rating performance report at https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/regulatory/uk-regulation. A comprehensive clarification of Scope Ratings’ definitions of default and Credit Rating notations can be found at https://www.scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Guidance and information on how environmental, social or governance factors (ESG factors) are incorporated into the Credit Rating can be found in the respective sections of the methodologies or guidance documents provided on https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.

Solicitation, key sources and quality of information
The Rated Entity and/or its Related Third Parties participated in the Credit Rating process.
The following substantially material sources of information were used to prepare the Credit Ratings: public domain, the Rated Entity and Scope Ratings’ internal sources.
Scope Ratings considers the quality of information available to Scope Ratings on the Rated Entity or instrument to be satisfactory. The information and data supporting these Credit Ratings originate from sources Scope Ratings considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope Ratings does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data.
Prior to the issuance of the Credit Rating action, the Rated Entity was given the opportunity to review the Credit Ratings and Outlooks and the principal grounds on which the Credit Ratings and Outlooks are based. Following that review, the Credit Ratings and Outlooks were not amended before being issued.

Regulatory disclosures
These Credit Ratings and Outlooks are issued by Scope Ratings UK Limited at 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, United Kingdom, SW1W 0AU, Tel +44 20 7824 5180. The Credit Ratings and Outlooks are EU-endorsed.
Lead analyst: Andre Hansen, Analyst
Person responsible for approval of the Credit Ratings: Marco Troiano, Managing Director
The Totens Sparebank issuer Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 30 October 2018. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 19 January 2024.
The Totens Sparebank preferred senior unsecured debt Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 30 October 2018. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 19 January 2024.
The Totens Sparebank non-preferred senior unsecured debt Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 28 September 2021. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 19 January 2024.
The Totens Sparebank Boligkreditt AS issuer Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 30 October 2018. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 19 January 2024.

Potential conflicts
See www.scoperatings.com under Governance & Policies/Regulatory for a list of potential conflicts of interest disclosures related to the issuance of Credit Ratings, as well as a list of Ancillary Services and certain non-Credit Rating Agency services provided to Rated Entities and/or Related Third Parties.

Conditions of use / exclusion of liability
© 2024 Scope SE & Co. KGaA and all its subsidiaries including Scope Ratings GmbH, Scope Ratings UK Limited, Scope Fund Analysis GmbH, and Scope ESG Analysis GmbH (collectively, Scope). All rights reserved. The information and data supporting Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions and related research and credit opinions originate from sources Scope considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data. Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, or related research and credit opinions are provided ‘as is’ without any representation or warranty of any kind. In no circumstance shall Scope or its directors, officers, employees and other representatives be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental or other damages, expenses of any kind, or losses arising from any use of Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, related research or credit opinions. Ratings and other related credit opinions issued by Scope are, and have to be viewed by any party as, opinions on relative credit risk and not a statement of fact or recommendation to purchase, hold or sell securities. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results. Any report issued by Scope is not a prospectus or similar document related to a debt security or issuing entity. Scope issues credit ratings and related research and opinions with the understanding and expectation that parties using them will assess independently the suitability of each security for investment or transaction purposes. Scope’s credit ratings address relative credit risk, they do not address other risks such as market, liquidity, legal, or volatility. The information and data included herein is protected by copyright and other laws. To reproduce, transmit, transfer, disseminate, translate, resell, or store for subsequent use for any such purpose the information and data contained herein, contact Scope Ratings GmbH at Lennéstraße 5 D-10785 Berlin.