Russian rating agency RAEX (Expert RA) has cut its creditworthiness rating on Bank Zerich from В++ to В+, which means the moderate level of creditworthiness, and set a developing outlook and put the rating 'under watch'.
Previously the rating carried a negative outlook. The revision of the bank's rating was driven by the rising share of NPLs of corporate clients and individual entrepreneurs from 3.3% to 10.4% from January 1 until June 1, 2015 and an increase in the portion of 4th quality category loans, RAEX said in a press release.
The agency also noted that the bank's activities during the first five months of 2015 remained unprofitable (losses totaled around Rub 37 mln). The developing rating outlook is stipulated by uncertainty surrounding future trends in the quality of the bank's assets and its net interest income, experts pointed out.
RAEX also downgraded Bank Kholmsk's cwi rating from B++ to B+, and set a negative outlook. The bank's rating was removed from rating watch. The rating downgrade and the outlook revision were driven by the bank's low capital (Rub 308.3 mln as of June 1, 2015) and the failure to fulfill its capital upsizing plans, the agency's analysts noted.
