ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 18. Fitch Ratings has upgraded "Associated Bank "Kazakhstan-Ziraat International Bank" JSC's (KZI) Long-Term (LT) Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'B' from 'B-' with a stable outlook, Trend reports.
At the same time, Fitch has also upgraded the bank's national long-term rating to 'BB+(kaz)' from 'BB-(kaz)'.
As the Fitch explained, KZI's 'B' LT IDRs reflect potential support from Ziraat. The positive outlook on KZI mirrors that on the parent bank's.
In Fitch's view, Ziraat has a high propensity to support KZI. Beyond high operational integration, this is due to its majority ownership and high reputational risk for the parent from KZI's default, given common branding and Ziraat's broader international presence.
In addition, the cost of potential support is low considering the subsidiary's small size relative to the parent's (end-2023: 0.4 percent of the group's consolidated assets) and a recent record of considerable equity support (2022: 21 percent of risk-weighted assets).
KZI's 'BB+(kaz)' National Rating reflects Fitch's view of the bank's creditworthiness relative to domestic peers'.