S&P Upgrades Ameriabank to BB-, Outlook Stable

ArmInfo.S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Ameriabank CJSC to 'BB-', outlook stable. The upgrade follows a similar action on Armenia. The ratings on Ameriabank are no longer constrained by the sovereign's creditworthiness and are now commensurate with its standalone credit profile of 'bb-'.

In S&P's view, Ameriabank is well positioned to retain its leading  market position in Armenia (it is the largest domestic lending  institution with a market share of about 19% of loans at June 30,  2023), leveraging on its digital channels and diversifying further  into the retail and small and midsize enterprise segments.  S&P also  expects Ameriabank to retain adequate capital adequacy in upcoming  years, supported by strong internal capital generation.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that over the next 12-18  months Ameriabank will maintain its leading positions in the Armenian  banking sector and manage its expected strong lending growth while  maintaining stable capital buffers.

About Ameriabank

Ameriabank is a leading financial and technology company in Armenia,  a major contributor to the Armenian economy, with assets exceeding  AMD 1 trillion. In the course of digital transformation, it has  launched a number of innovative solutions and platforms going beyond  banking-only needs of its diverse customer base, thus creating a  dynamically evolving financial technology space.

Ameria was the first in Armenia to create ecosystems for both  businesses and individuals, which give one- window access to a range  of banking and non-banking services, among them -  Estate.ameriabank.am, Automarket.ameriabank.am,  Business.ameriabank.am. 

As a truly customer-centric company, Ameria aims to be a trusted and  secure financial technology space with seamless solutions to improve  the quality of life. 

Ameriabank is supervised by the Central Bank of RA.

According to the ArmInfo Rating of Armenian Banks as of June 30,  2023, Ameribank increased its loan portfolio year-on-year by 20.1% to  $2.1 billion, taking leadership in the country's banking sector.   Moreover, having increased retail lending by 28% per annum, the bank  took first position in terms of volume at $812 million, and with an  increase in corporate lending by 17% to $1.3 billion, it secured its  leadership with an even greater gap from the rest. In lending to  SMEs, Ameriabank moved up to 2nd position, providing a volume of  $506.7 million with an annual growth of 22%. Ameriabank is a leader  in lending to such sectors of the economy as industry, construction,  transport and communications, takes 2nd position in financing the  agricultural sector and trade, and is in the TOP-5 in lending to the  catering and services sectors. The bank also maintains leadership in  mortgage lending, ensuring the growth of this portfolio by 30% per  annum - up to $543 million. In the banking system of Armenia, only  the capital of Ameriabank includes such institutional investors as  the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the  Asian Development Bank (ADB) , whose total participation share is  31.63%.