OREANDA-NEWS.  National Rating Agency has affirmed its ‘AA-’ national scale credit rating on Mezhtopenergobank OJSC (MTEB). On Jan. 22, 2010, the bank was assigned NRA’s national scale credit rating of ‘A’, which was affirmed on Apr. 21, 2011. The bank’s national scale credit rating was raised to ‘A+’ on Apr. 12, 2012, affirmed at this level on Mar. 13, 2013 and upgraded to ‘AA-’ on June 9, 2014.

The rating is supported by MTEB’s positive growth momentum and stable customer base. We also note the bank’s strong — and currently excessive — liquidity, expected to be used for lending the real economy in the medium term. The owners are committed to the bank, and we view positively MTEB’s governance level and its effective risk management system, properly adapted to the scale of its business.

The rating is constrained by the bank’s growth deceleration amid current economic difficulties, increased credit risk exposure to the construction sector and reduced profitability metrics.

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