Rating action

Scope Ratings UK Limited (Scope) has placed Brage Finans AS (Brage) issuer rating and senior unsecured debt rating of A- under review for upgrade.

The rating action follows the establishment of Sparebanken Norge (SBN) as a result of the merger between Sparebanken Vest and Sparebanken Sør on the 2nd of May 2025. With a 76.75% ownership stake, Sparebanken Norge has become the largest owner of Brage. Scope will review the strategic relevance of Brage for SBN as a product company, the level of integration as well as the degree of support for Brage from SBN. Furthermore, Scope will review the potential financial, reputational or strategic downsides a no-support decision could have.

The full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action release.

Under review for a possible upgrade

Brage’s issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings are placed under review for upgrade. A change in potential group support as well as the update of our credit view on the majority owner could lead to a positive impact on Brage’s credit rating by more than one notch. The rating could be affirmed in the case the relationship between Brage and SPN were to be managed strictly on an arm’s length basis, resulting in a very high degree of operational and financial independence. We will resolve the under review status upon completion of an updated credit view, including a review of relevant communication on the strategic relevance of Brage Finans for SBN’s business model.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

ESG factors have no impact on this credit rating action.

All rating actions and rated entities

Brage Finans AS

Issuer rating: A-/ Under review for a possible upgrade

Senior unsecured debt rating: A-/ Under review for a possible upgrade

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

Methodology
The methodology used for these Credit Ratings, (Financial Institutions Rating Methodology, 10 January 2025), 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 the principal grounds on which the Credit Ratings are based. Following that review, the Credit Ratings were not amended before being issued.

Regulatory disclosures
These Credit Ratings are issued by Scope Ratings UK Limited at 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, United Kingdom, SW1W 0AU, Tel +44 20 7824 5180. The Credit Ratings are EU-endorsed.
Lead analyst: Andre Hansen, Senior Analyst
Person responsible for approval of the Credit Ratings: Karlo Fuchs, Managing Director
The Credit Ratings/Outlooks were first released by Scope Ratings on 28 January 2020. The Credit Ratings/Outlooks were last updated on 15 October 2024.

Potential conflicts
See 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
© 2025 Scope SE & Co. KGaA and all its subsidiaries including Scope Ratings GmbH, Scope Ratings UK Limited, Scope Fund Analysis GmbH, Scope Innovation Lab 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. Public Ratings are generally accessible to the public. Subscription Ratings and Private Ratings are confidential and may not be shared with any unauthorised third party.