Bermuda Commercial Bank Ltd.'s (BCB) sale of its controlling interest to Bermuda-based exempted company Permanent Investments Ltd. has ended "lingering uncertainties" over the ultimate ownership of the bank, according to Moody's Ratings Agency.

Moody's said it was seeking to clarify the new owner's views on the bank's future operating and financial profile, including its capitalisation and investment guideline following the $34.2 million deal to take over the 54 percent stake previously held by First Curacao International Bank NV (FCIB), which was subsequently seized by the Central bank of Netherlands-Antilles.

Fitch Ratings has also maintained its current ratings for BCB following the acquisition announcement.

"Although Fitch does not view the change in ownership by itself an immediate rating factor, Fitch will evaluate the implications of new owner-ship and how it will influence BCB's future operating strategy, financial and capital profile," it said.

"While BCB has pursued a low risk business strategy, earnings have been pressured given the low interest rate environment. With new ownership in place, Fitch believes the focus will shift to longer-term business strategy for BCB, which may differ from its current business model. BCB's current ratings primarily reflect its strong capital and highly liquid balance sheet."

Fitch maintains a short-term rating of 'F2', an individual rating of 'C' and a support rating of '5' on BCB.

BCB's deposits are currently rated at Baa3 by Moody's, with a bank financial strength rating of D+ and an outlook of stable.

In concluding the transaction, which was approved by the BCB board of directors and the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Permanent also bought all of FCIB's outstanding options in BCB and agreed to make a cash offer to acquire all the remaining issued and outstanding common shares of BCB at a 27 percent premium over the last traded price prior to the announcement of the acquisition last week.

Moody's said that the bank's strategy had previously focused on providing banking services to the international business community in Bermuda and it balance sheet was highly liquid, with the bulk of its assets being held in cash and deposits with banks. It added that the bank had no debt and was very highly capitalised, and therefore had only a limited near term risk to depositors.

Moody's last rating action on BCB was on January 30, 2008, when the ratings agency confirmed the bank's ratings at D+ for financial strength and Baa3 and Prime-3 for long and short-term deposits with a stable outlook.