On 21 April 2026, Moody’s Ratings (“Moody’s”) announced rating actions on Citadele’s long-term deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings following updates to the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and to the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive (DGSD) introducing full depositor preference across the European Union.
Moody’s upgraded Citadele’s long-term deposit rating to A3 from Baa1 and downgraded the senior unsecured debt rating to Baa2 from Baa1. Following the rating action, the senior unsecured debt rating has reverted to Baa2, the same level as at the time of Citadele’s most recent EUR 300 million senior unsecured MREL-eligible issuance in September 2025.
According to Moody’s rationale, the upgrade of Citadele’s long-term deposit ratings reflects the increased subordination for deposits from their preference over senior unsecured debt, resulting in lower expected loss severity for depositors. At the same time, the downgrade of senior unsecured debt ratings reflects the higher expected loss severity for these instruments following the introduction of depositor preference.
The stable outlook reflects Moody’s expectation that Citadele will maintain a broadly unchanged financial profile over the outlook horizon. Moody’s also expects that the impact of depositor preference on loss severity will not change materially further.
“Moody’s rating actions reflect structural changes in the regulatory framework and the resulting methodological implications, while underscoring the strength of the Bank’s fundamentals. Citadele continues to demonstrate strong capitalisation, solid asset quality, and sustainable profitability, supporting our stable credit profile,” said Rūta Ežerskiene, CEO and Chair of the Management Board of Citadele Banka.
About Citadele Group
Citadele’s mission is to modernise the financial sector by offering a range of next-generation financial technology-based services alongside traditional banking products, serving both private individuals and entrepreneurs across the Baltics. In 2025, Citadele issued EUR 1.6 billion in new loans, with the total loan portfolio reaching EUR 3.8 billion and deposits growing to EUR 4.3 billion. Citadele Bank is the Group’s parent company in Latvia, and its subsidiaries and branches operate in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.