"Moody's Investors Service" ("Moody's") Azərbaycanının "Kapital Bank" ASC-nin yerli və xarici valyutada depozit reytinqlərini "B3" səviyyəsində təsdiq edib. Reytinqin proqnozu isə "neqativ"dən "stabil"ə dəyişdirilib. 

FED.az agentliyin yaydığı məlumata istinadən xəbər verir ki, Kapital Bankın reytinqinin propqnozunun artırılması  Azərbaycanda əməliyyat mühitinin yaxşılaşmasını və bankın ödəmə qabiliyyətinin davamlılığını əks etdirir.

Proqnozun “müsbət”ə dəyişdirlməsi növbəti dəfə reytinqin artırılacağı ehtimalını gücləndirir.

Ötən cümə günü "Moody's", "Bank Respublika"nın reytinqin proqnozunu "mənfi"dən "müsbət"ə (və ya "neqativ"dən "pozitiv"ə) qaldırmışdı.


 

Moody's affirms ratings of Kapital Bank OJSC, changes outlook to stable

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") today affirmed the Ba3 long-term local- and foreign currency deposit ratings of Azerbaijan-based Kapital Bank OJSC (Kapital Bank) and changed the outlook to stable from negative. Concurrently, the rating agency affirmed the bank's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA of b1, the bank's long-term and short-term local- and foreign currency Counterparty Risk Ratings of Ba2/Not Prime, as well as its Not Prime short-term local-and foreign currency bank deposit ratings. Kapital Bank's long-term and short-term Counterparty Risk Assessments (CR Assessments) of Ba2(cr)/Not

Prime(cr) were also affirmed.

A full list of affected ratings can be found at the end of this press release.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The affirmation of the bank's ratings and outlook change to stable reflect both an improved operating environment in Azerbaijan as well as evidenced resilience of the bank's solvency to external shocks through
the cycle.

Despite the challenging economic conditions over recent years, the bank maintained better-than-sector-average asset quality with a problem loan ratio of 6-7% and provisioning coverage close to 90-100% in 2015-2017. The better-than-average loan book quality was due to the bank's limited exposure to foreign-currency denominated loans and focus on government-related entities, payroll customers, budget recipients and
pensioners with reliable cash inflows.

Resumed economic growth in Azerbaijan, projected at 2% in 2018 and 3% in 2019 together with declined inflation and stability in the exchange rate, should bolster the real disposable income and creditworthiness of the bank's borrowers, in particular households, which accounted for 67% of gross loans at mid-2018.

Kapital Bank's reported net income for the first half of 2018 of AZN 64.8 million, equivalent to an annualized return on average assets of 3.8%, compared well with that of its global peers rated by Moody's and was
higher than that of its domestic competitors. The bank's performance is supported by its solid net interest margin (6.6% in H1 2018) and very good operating efficiency (40.9%). The rating agency expects that the
bank's profitability metrics will remain robust in the next 12-18 months amid a stable operating environment.

With tangible common equity (TCE) at 22.5% of its risk-weighted assets (RWA) as of 31 December 2017, the bank's capital adequacy remains a key credit strength. Despite a material dividend payout of AZN94.8 million
this year, Moody's expects that the bank's capital adequacy will remain robust thanks to (1) healthy profitability; (2) an expected AZN40 million additional share issue by the end of 2018, of which half was already
completed; and (3) moderate RWA growth in the next 12-18 months. In addition, next year Kapital Bank plans to decrease its dividend pay-out ratio to 60% of net profit from about 100% previously.

Kapital Bank's funding and liquidity positions will remain stable, supported by its customer deposit base which accounted for 90% of non-equity funding, as well as its ample liquidity cushion of about 60%
of total assets as of mid-2018.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Moody's has revised its assessment of the likelihood of the Azerbaijani government's support to Kapital Bank to high from moderate, resulting in one notch of uplift from the bank's BCA of b1. This assumption is based
on the bank's (1) systemic importance for the national payment system, aided by its largest countrywide coverage, wide customer base and market share exceeding 11% of banking sector assets at the end of 2017 compared with about 6% two years earlier; and (2) historical close ties to the government, which enable the bank to participate in large-scale government projects, thus conferring good access to state funding.

WHAT COULD MOVE THE RATINGS UP / DOWN

Kapital Bank's deposit ratings now incorporate a high probability of government support and are positioned at a relatively high level in local context, just one notch below Azerbaijan's Ba2 sovereign debt rating. In the long-term, upward rating pressure could arise from a sustained improvement in Kapital Bank's asset quality and lower single-name concentrations in its loan portfolio and deposit base.

Kapital Bank's BCA and long-term deposit ratings could be downgraded, or the outlook on its long-term deposit ratings might be revised to negative from stable, if Moody's observed a material weakening in asset quality,
requiring higher provisions and leading to bottom-line losses and capital erosion.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

..Issuer: Kapital Bank OJSC

Affirmations:

.... Long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings, Affirmed Ba2

.... Short-term Counterparty Risk Ratings, Affirmed NP

.... Long-term Bank Deposit, Affirmed Ba3 Outlook Changed to Stable From
Negative

.... Short-term Bank Deposits, Affirmed NP

.... Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed Ba2(cr)

.... Short-term Counterparty Risk Assessment, Affirmed NP(cr)

.... Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed b1

.... Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed b1

Outlook Action:

....Outlook Changed To Stable From Negative