Fitch Ratings has affirmed the NCC’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and debt rating at 'BBB-' and revised the Bank’s Outlook to Stable, according to the official statement released by the international rating company on Friday.
NCC is among four Russian state-owned banks, six of their subsidiaries, two state-owned leasing companies, 14 foreign-owned banks which Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and debt ratings have been affirmed and Outlooks revised to Stable following the revision of the Outlook on Russia's sovereign rating.
The affirmation of NCC's ratings, the statement says, reflects its exceptionally strong credit profile in the context of the local market, based on its intrinsic strength, as reflected in its 'bbb' Viability Rating (VR). The latter is driven by NCC's high resilience to potential losses due to strong risk management and controls, the largely short-term nature of its risk exposures, and robust solvency, which is further protected by extra buffers and a loss cap (with any excess loss to be shared among market participants). The VR also reflects strong liquidity, its countercyclical and very cheap funding base and continued robust performance. NCC's Long-Term foreign-currency IDR of 'BBB-' is constrained by Russia's Country Ceiling. The foreign-currency IDR is driven by the VR, but also underpinned at this level by potential sovereign support. Fitch views the propensity of the sovereign to provide support to NCC as high given its important role in ensuring the proper functioning of local financial markets and its unique infrastructure.
