OREANDA-NEWS. Standard and Poor`s Ratings Services announced today that it has upgraded MDM Bank`s long-term credit rating to "BB" from "BB-". The outlook is stable. The rating agency also affirmed MDM Bank`s short-term rating of "B".

Thanks to the upgrade, MDM Bank`s credit rating is now among the highest ratings of Russian banks, excluding those supported by the State.

According to Standard and Poor`s, “The rating action reflects MDM`s sustained commercial and financial performance and its consistent progress in decreasing its single-name lending concentrations. These positive developments have been supported by the bank`s strategic repositioning and organizational enhancements, adequate risk management and governance practices, as well as improving, albeit still challenging, macroeconomic environment in Russia”

MDM Bank`s management attributes the rating upgrade to a successful implementation of the Bank`s strategy, aimed at business diversification, regional expansion and improvement in corporate governance practices. The key factor was increasing operational effectiveness and the quality of assets and liabilities - in particular, reducing the volume of related party transactions and diversification of credit and deposit portfolios. “We will further work on improving our credit quality,” says Michel Perhirin, CEO and Chairman of MDM Bank Management Board. “We are still have way to go, such as further diversification, in particular, by expanding our SME lending operations, as well as increasing operational effectiveness and further improvement of risk management procedures.”