Singapore, October 15, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned first-time ratings to An
Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (An Binh Bank): B2/Not Prime global
local and foreign currency issuer ratings; B2/Not Prime local and
foreign currency deposit ratings; and a b3 standalone baseline credit
assessment (BCA) and b3 adjusted BCA.
The outlook on the long-term issuer and deposit ratings is stable.
Moody's has also assigned a Counterparty Risk Assessment (CR Assessment)
of B2(cr)/Not Prime(cr).
RATINGS RATIONALE
The B2 long-term ratings assigned to An Binh Bank, which
is based in Vietnam (B1 stable), incorporate its b3 BCA and a one
notch uplift to reflect Moody's moderate systemic support assumption in
case of stress.
An Binh Bank's standalone creditworthiness reflects the bank's
good liquidity position and moderate capital adequacy. These positive
factors are partly mitigated by the bank's relatively weak asset quality,
poor profitability due to high loan loss provisions, and some reliance
on market-sensitive funding.
Similar to most other rated banks in Vietnam, An Binh Bank has a
relatively large share of assets that Moody's considers problematic.
As of June 2015, problem loans (which Moody's defines as loans in
categories 2-5 under Vietnamese accounting standards) amounted
to 6.3% of gross loans, up from 5.9%
in December 2014.
The bank also has other assets that Moody's considers problematic,
such as securities from the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC).
Adding the net amount of VAMC securities to the loan book translates into
a problem loans ratio of 13.5% as of June 2015, down
slightly from 13.8% in December 2014.
The bank's tangible common equity (TCE)/risk-weighted assets
(RWA) ratio stood of 11.4% at end-2014, was
modest in light of asset quality challenges. Moreover, the
TCE/RWA ratio decreased from 15.7% in 2013, mainly
due to dividend payments for 2014. In line with Moody's standard
adjustments for RWAs, the rating agency applies a 100% risk
weighting on Vietnam government securities, which results in lower
adjusted capital ratios compared to those reported by the bank.
An Binh Bank's profitability is weak, mainly because of its
high loan loss provisions. The bank channeled 60%-70%
of its pre-provision income into reserves in 2013-2014.
Moody's expects that provisioning expenses will remain high in 2015 and
2016, as the bank gradually works out its problem exposures.
The bank's liquidity position is good, with liquid and semi-liquid
assets accounting for around 50% of total assets. Its funding
profile is modest, as it finances around 25% of assets with
market-sensitive funding.
The bank's deposit base also has some concentrations due to large
deposits from Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN, not rated),
which is one of the bank's large shareholders.
Moody's moderate systemic support assumption for An Binh Bank is driven
by the bank's modest 1% share of system assets and deposits at
end-2014. This results in a one notch of ratings uplift
to B2, above the bank's b3 BCA. The authorities in
Vietnam have demonstrated a commitment to support the banks through regulatory
forbearance and restructuring.
Moody's does not incorporate any support assumptions from large
shareholders into An Binh Bank's ratings, because of their relatively
small ownership stakes. At end-2014, the largest shareholders
were Malayan Banking Berhad (A3 positive; 20%), EVN
(16.02%), Export Joint Stock Company (not rated;
12.99% stake) and the International Finance Corporation
(Aaa stable; 10% stake).
COUNTERPARTY RISK ASSESSMENT
An Binh Bank's CR Assessment is positioned at B2(cr). CR
Assessments are opinions of how counterparty obligations are likely to
be treated if a bank fails and relates to a bank's contractual performance
obligations (servicing), derivatives (e.g.,
swaps), letters of credit, guarantees and liquidity facilities.
Senior obligations represented by the CR Assessment will be more likely
preserved in order to limit contagion, minimize losses and avoid
disruption of critical functions.
What Could Change the Rating Up/Down
Material improvements in the bank's asset quality metrics and profitability
could lead to a ratings upgrade. In addition, a material
increase in its capital buffer would be positive for the ratings.
The ratings could be downgraded if the bank's asset quality deteriorates
to such an extent that potential credit losses almost fully deplete its
loss absorbing buffers. A significant deterioration in liquidity
metrics would also be negative for the rating.
Furthermore, a high credit growth appetite that is materially above
the system average could translate into a ratings downgrade or change
in outlook to negative.
The one notch of rating uplift due to government support could be withdrawn
if we see a lower commitment from the authorities to support and restructure
the banking system.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks published in
March 2015. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
Taking into account today's announcement, the new ratings are as
follows:
An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank
- The local currency and foreign currency long-term deposit
ratings of B2 were assigned; Outlook stable
- The local currency and foreign currency long-term issuer
ratings of B2 were assigned; Outlook stable
- The BCA and Adjusted BCA of b3 were assigned
- The long-term and short term counterparty risk assessments
of B2(cr)/NP(cr) were assigned
- The local currency and foreign currency short-term deposit
ratings of NP were assigned
- The local currency and foreign currency short-term issuer
ratings of NP were assigned
Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, An Binh Bank had
total assets of VND66 trillion as of 30 June 2015 (around $2.95
billion).
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Eugene Tarzimanov
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Stephen Long
MD - Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Moody's assigns first-time B2 ratings to An Binh Bank