Russian rating agency RAEX (Expert RA) has affirmed its credit rating of A(III) on Saint Petersburg-based Bank BFA, with a stable outlook.
The rating was backed by the bank's acceptable capital adequacy ratio (as of December 1, 2016 N1.0 stood at 14.1%) and good collateralization of the credit portfolio, RAEX said in a press release. The agency is upbeat about the bank's well balanced assets and liabilities on the 12M+ horizon and the possibility to draw extra funds via repurchase transactions. The moderate level of accepted currency risks also had a positive impact on the rating.
The rating is still pressured by the bank's sensitivity to changes in the terms under which credits and deposits of up to 30 days are refinanced, and to the moderate N3 reading as of separate balance sheet dates. Also, 26.6% of the bank's securities portfolio as of December 1, 2016 falls to the portfolio held by maturity (not counted when calculating liquid assets), but, longer term, it is planned to be carried over to the portfolio for sale, thus increasing the current liquidity ratio. The agency is downbeat about a contraction in the scope of the bank's operations (assets declined by 35% in January-November 2016) and high concentration of active operations on companies associated with the high credit risk. The rating is limited by operating risks associated with the bank's takeover by Bank Uralsib, and high concentration of funds drawn from the biggest creditors.
