Rating agency Expert RA has assigned a creditworthiness rating of B++ (acceptable creditworthiness level) to bank Unifin, the rating agency said in a press release.
The main factor that produces a positive impact on Unifin’s creditworthiness is high equity capital, which lays solid groundwork for dynamic business growth. In terms of capital adequacy ratio (№ 1) the bank easily meets CBR requirements (the lender’s ratio was equal to 20.54% as of December 1), which is especially topical at the time of the financial crisis. The rating is positively influenced by robust liquidity figures that remain stable despite a considerable outflow of private deposits in October (25.2%) and November (6.9%) this year.
Among positive factors the agency’s analysts also take into account well-diversified balance of assets and liabilities in terms of duration and the adequate level of strategic fund provision. “Furthermore, the minimal percentage of investments in securities at the time of their highest volatility increases Unifin’s resistance to stock risks” — thinks Marina Musiets, expert of the department for financial institutions ratings at Expert RA.
The constraint for the rating, apart from private deposit withdrawals, is the inadequately high quality of loans granted that caused substantial corporate loans overdue (3.63% as of October 1) and the high portion of bad (22.6%) and non-operating loans (4th and 5th quality categories, 4.6%) in the lender’s credit portfolio. A cushioning factor for this risk is the high level of reserves formed for potential losses under loans and adequate collateral for the most of the credit portfolio.
According to the data from news agency Banki.ru and Interfax-CEA, as of July 1, 2008 net assets of commercial bank Universal Finances (Unifin) stood at Rub 4.03 bln (325th place in Russia). The lending institution is a member of the national deposit insurance system.
