Russian rating agency RAEX (Expert RA) has raised its outlook for Forus Bank's creditworthiness rating from developing to stable, which means that the bank's rating will very likely be held at this level, and removed the rating from rating watch. The bank's rating was affirmed at A (high level of creditworthiness, Sublevel 2).
"The upgrade of the rating outlook came after a rise in the bank's capital by over Rub 350 mln that will allow the bank to cover losses sustained from the writedown of bad debt and provide the bank with sustainable growth," RAEX managing director for banking ratings Stanislav Volkov commented.
Furthermore, among key factors that produced a positive impact on the rating the agency named high capital adequacy, well-balanced assets and liabilities by duration in the short-term horizon, and the coverage area that is adequate to the bank's business focus.
The poor quality of loans due is a primary negative factor. The agency also noted that in the July – September quarter of 2015 net interest income and net commission income did not cover opex.
The bank's rating is still under pressure from the deconcentrated ownership structure (there is no shareholder that holds more than 10% of voting shares).