ArmInfo. Moody's Investors Service upgraded Ardshinbank's rating with Stable outlook. As the press service of the bank told ArmInfo, Ardshinbank is granted a rating equal to the sovereign rating of the Republic of Armenia, which is the best rating indicator for a private entity in the country.
According to the source, the following ratings are assigned to the bank: Ba3 for LT Bank Deposits (Local Currency), B1 for LT Bank Deposits (Foreign), Ba3 for Baseline Credit Assessment, Ba2 for Counterparty Risk Assessment.
Moody's provided rating rationale, noting in particular that the upgrade of Ardshinbank's Long-Term Local Currency Bank Deposits rating is based on the positive outlook for Ba3 rating of public debt. The upgrade of Ardshinbank's long-term foreign currency deposit rating is driven by the bank's strengthened solvency profile. The improvements in solvency profile are reflected in the bank's declining problem loan ratio, improving profitability and strengthened capital position.
It is worth noting that, according to the rating scale of Moody's, banks with a rating of category B have high independent financial stability. Moody's usually assigns a rating of this category to organizations operating in a predictable and stable operating environment and having: highly assessed and strong market positions, good financial performance. According to the Financial Rating of the Banks of Armenia prepared by ArmInfo IC as of June 30, 2019 Ardshinbank's assets amounted to $ 1.4 billion (an increase of 9.4% y-o-y), total capital - $ 152.3 million (an increase of 7.5% y-o-y), total liabilities - $ 1.3 billion (an increase of 9.6% y -o-y). According to these indicators, Ardshinbank maintains its positions in TOP-3. In the structure of assets, the share of credit investments accounts for 64% or more than $ 920 million, of which $ 577.7 million or 62.8% are corporate loans (3rd position in the market). Moreover, in lending to the economy, Ardshinbank is most active in financing the industrial sector, SMEs, catering and the service sector. Of the total liabilities, the dominant volume is accounted for by term deposits - 45.4% or $ 585.1 million (2nd position), of which the majority are deposits from individuals. Credit resources attracted under international programs account for about 26% of the bank's liabilities, or $ 329.6 million, and Ardshinbank occupies the second position in terms of their volume. Ardshinbank completed the first half of 2019 with a net profit of $ 11 million (2nd position in the market), increasing this indicator in y-o-y terms by 46.5%.
To recall, Ardshinbank was founded in 2003. Ardshinbank's majority shareholders as of July 1, 2019 are Arins Group LLC (formerly referred to as Business Investment Center LLC) with a 67.97% equity stake and REGION Industrial and Financial Corporation CJSC - 29.52%. Ardshinbank is the second largest bank in Armenia, having one of the largest branch networks, consisting of 63 branches, of which 18 are located in Yerevan, 42 in the regions and 3 in the Republic of Artsakh. The Bank has ratings of international reputable rating agencies equal to the country rating of Armenia.