OREANDA-NEWS. RusRating has increased Orient Express Bank’s credit rating from “AA-” to “AA” on the national scale and from “BBB-” to “BBB” on the international scale. In both cases the rating outlook is stable.According to the agency, the rating increase reflects an ongoing healthy rate of growth and healthy earnings performance coupled with the stable nature of the factors impacting financial results.

The rating itself is based on positive development trends, advanced technology, strong corporate governance and owners well placed to provide support.

Constraining factors include limited access to long-term resources and a business focused on a single market segment.

Orient Express Bank is a larger private-sector bank whose shareholders include both private individuals (S.N. Vlasov, I.V. Kim, A.A. Bekarev and A.A. Taranov) and portfolio investors (Baring Vostok, the IFC and Russia Partners). The Bank became a retail specialist in 2005 and has seen dynamic growth; a well-developed service network covers all regions of the country. Orient Express has experience accessing public capital markets both domestically and internationally and is moderately active in interbank loans. Five other banks – some former members of the informal URSA Bank alliance and others independent regional players – were merged into Orient Express during the period 2009-2011 and strategy calls for the further consolidation of smaller regional banks.