Market sources said the last step in making a manager switch final on Indosuez Capital Funding IV from Credit Agricole Indosuez to Royal Bank of Canada will require approval from the ratings agency. "Rating agenices have stopped changes before but on this deal there's no reason it shouldn't go through," said one source close to the deal, referencing the fact that the management team at RBC was the former management team on the old deal. The management team at RBC, led by Dan Smith, formerly of Indoseuz, will be meeting with rating agency personnel from Fitch Inc., Standard & Poor's, and Moody's Investors Service at the end of the week. Officials at the rating agencies declined to comment. Smith did not return calls by press time.
Sources said the rating agencies will evaluate the entire RBC management team, the amount of capital available to support the deal, and the infrastructure and technology at the firm available to efficiently handle administration.