After seeing their ratings plummet to 'BB-', impacted by South Africa's sovereign rating of 'BB' from 'BB-' in November, five South African banks have just received the excellent rating ' AA+” from Fitch Ratings. These are Absa Bank Limited, FirstRand Bank Limited, Investec Bank Limited, Nedbank Limited and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited.

This long-term national rating, backed by a stable outlook, reflects an improvement in their creditworthiness relative to the best credits in the country, according to Fitch. Debt ratings were also upgraded by one notch.

Fitch has also taken similar rating action on the long-term domestic ratings of four South African bank holding companies, namely Absa Group Limited, Investec Limited, Nedbank Group Limited and Standard Bank Group Limited.

On this review, Fitch says the creditworthiness of South African banks has improved relative to the country's top credits, including sovereign and government-related entities. In addition to sovereign risks, Fitch believes that banks have significant leeway to withstand the current pressures on the operating environment.