International rating agency S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Zapsibcombank's long-term and short-term foreign currency and local currency credit ratings at В+/В. The ratings carry a negative outlook, S&P's press service reported.
The bank's national scale rating was affirmed at ruA.
The negative rating outlook reflects difficult conditions of operations that will most likely produce an adverse impact on the bank's profitability and will result in higher credit risks, analysts pointed out.
The agency could lower the bank's ratings if it faces substantial difficulties due to an economic slowdown in Russia, thus leading to further deterioration of its asset quality and far bigger loan losses than what the agency forecasts at the moment. The agency could also downgrade the bank's ratings if its capitalization drops, with the risk adjusted capital (RAC) ratio falling below 5%, S&P noted.
Experts may revise their outlook for Zapsibcombank's ratings to stable if the economic environment in Russia improves substantially. However, as S&P thinks, this scenario is unlikely over the next 12-18 months.
