London, 15 December 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") today upgraded
to b1 from b2 ForteBank JSC (Forte)'s Baseline Credit Assessment
(BCA) and Adjusted BCA, to Ba2 from Ba3 the long-term deposit
ratings, to Ba1 from Ba2 long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings
and to Ba1(cr) from Ba2(cr) long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment.
Concurrently, Moody's affirmed the bank's Not Prime short-term
Deposit and Counterparty Risk Ratings and Not Prime(cr) short-term
Counterparty Risk Assessment. The overall outlook remains stable.
A full list of affected ratings can be found at the end of this press
release.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Today's rating action recognizes substantially decreased uncertainties
over the bank's asset risk, following the sharp contraction
in problem loans since the beginning of this year. The rating action
also recognizes improvement in the bank's core profitability,
largely driven by lower needs for provisioning charges, and Forte's
maturing business profile.
According to the most recent information provided by the bank's
management, the share of problem loans (defined as Stage 3 and POCI
loans, according to IFRS 9 accounting standard) in the bank's
gross loan book decreased to 16.1% as of 30 September 2021
from 25.8% as of 31 December 2020. While the coverage
of the remaining problem loans by loan loss reserves yet remains modest
at around 44%, the risks stemming from the previously high
uncertainty surrounding the performance of problem assets is substantially
reduced: the share of problem loans relative to the sum of the bank's
tangible common equity and loan loss reserves fell to around 43%
as of 30 September 2021 from 66% as of 31 December 2020.
In addition, a consistent track record of successful recoveries
of problem assets along with the bank's very strong capital buffer
(Moody's-adjusted ratio of Tangible Common Equity to Risk-Weighted
Assets stood at 19.0% as of 30 September 2021) are now also
considered to be strong mitigants.
The rating upgrade also recognizes the bank's consistently improving
and currently strong profitability, that is expected to be maintained
throughout 2022-23. Excluding the one-off gain of
KZT 18 billion recorded in 2020, Forte's pre-tax profits
increased by almost 60% in the first nine months of 2021.
As result, the bank's return on average assets (annualized)
stood at around 2.8% in the first nine months of this year,
which fully offset pressure stemming from Forte's currently generous
dividend policy.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
Forte's long-term ratings could be upgraded if the bank continues
maintaining its currently strong solvency and liquidity metrics,
while reducing problem loans and strengthening is competitive position
by successfully developing and monetizing its investments in e-commerce
and IT platforms. A substantially improved granularity of its currently
concentrated deposit base could also warrant a rating upgrade.
The ratings could be downgraded if the bank's profitability were
to materially weaken or currently strong capital adequacy metrics were
to weaken, as a result of generous dividend policy and/or rapid
asset growth.
LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS
..Issuer: ForteBank JSC
Upgrades:
....Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment,
Upgraded to b1 from b2
....Baseline Credit Assessment, Upgraded
to b1 from b2
....Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment,
Upgraded to Ba1(cr) from Ba2(cr)
....Long-term Counterparty Risk Ratings,
Upgraded to Ba1 from Ba2
....Long-term Bank Deposit Ratings,
Upgraded to Ba2 from Ba3, Outlook Remains Stable
Affirmations:
....Short-term Counterparty Risk Assessment,
Affirmed NP(cr)
....Short-term Counterparty Risk Rating,
Affirmed NP
....Short-term Bank Deposit Rating,
Affirmed NP
Outlook Action:
....Outlook, Remains Stable
PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks Methodology
published in July 2021 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1269625.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures
in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the
same series, category/class of debt, security 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 credit rating action on the
support provider and in relation to each particular credit 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 credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit 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.
The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated
agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy
for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on
its website www.moodys.com.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social
and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1288235.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed
by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt
am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.
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.
Semyon Isakov
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Limited, Russian Branch
7th floor, Four Winds Plaza
21 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya St.
Moscow 125047
Russia
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
Yaroslav Sovgyra, CFA
Associate Managing Director
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454
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