Fitch affirmed at AA+ and then withdrew the rating of Barclays Bank public sector covered bonds on Friday, some two months after the issuer had removed the rating agency from the documentation of the programme.

Fitch placed the covered bonds, then rated AAA, on Rating Watch Negative (RWN) in March and in April cut their rating to AA+ following a cut of the UK sovereign. The bank had in the meantime removed references to Fitch from the documentation of the public sector programme.

On Friday Fitch said that it withdrew the rating because the issuer has chosen to stop participating in the rating process, as a result of which the rating agency will no longer have sufficient information to maintain the rating.