Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 8
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
AsiaCredit Bank's business position is considered weak, given its small size, narrow business focus, and low market share (only 0.6 percent of systemwide assets as of September 30, 2017), S&P Global Ratings said in a message.
With total assets of about 165 billion tenge (about $56.3 million) as of September 30, 2017, AsiaCredit Bank provides traditional commercial banking services to corporate and retail clients, with 90 percent of its loans to companies and 10 percent to individuals.
“Since the end of 2015, the bank has been adjusting its growth strategy in response to the need for additional provisions after a period of rapid business expansion. As a result, its total assets decreased by about 30 percent by the end of 2017 from their peak in 2015. In addition to changes in external and market conditions, the bank is also subject to potential changes of its majority shareholder's strategy,” the message said.
The bank is 99 percent owned by Kazakh businessman, Sultan Nurbol, who also owns other businesses of a similar size in nonfinancial sectors.
“We view as positive the stability of the bank’s management team, which has adjusted to operational challenges and enabled the bank’s compliance with regulatory requirements, despite significant pressures on asset quality and liquidity over the past few years.”
The agency regards AsiaCredit Bank's capital and earnings as moderate.
S&P has assigned its 'B-/B' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings and ‘kzBB-’ national scale rating to Kazakhstan-based JSC AsiaCredit Bank. The outlook on the long-term issuer credit rating is stable.