Moody's assigns ‘stable outlook’ to Access Bank

03 Aug 2015
Financial Nigeria

Summary

Moody’s said much of the ratings were informed by solid asset quality metrics, underpinned by tangible improvements in loan underwriting standards..

Access Bank building

Moody's Investors Service has assigned stable outlook to Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc. The ratings cover Local and Foreign Currency Issuer Ratings; Local Currency Deposit Rating; Foreign Currency Deposit Rating; and Baseline Credit Assessment. Moody's also assigned stable outlook rating for the bank on Counterparty Risk Assessment.

Moody’s said much of the ratings were informed by solid asset quality metrics, underpinned by tangible improvements in loan underwriting standards and risk management in recent years; robust capital and liquidity buffers, supported by sustainable internal capital generation; and a stable liability structure predominantly funded with deposits.

These strengths are balanced against Nigeria's challenging operating environment, which takes into account the strong growth potential of the system and institutional and structural weaknesses; concentration risks on the bank's books, including to the oil and gas industry, and the high loan growth recorded by the bank in recent years.

Moody’s said while these factors pose the risk of asset quality volatility through a full economic cycle, it believes Access Bank is very well positioned to weather such challenges and, therefore, expects the bank’s standalone credit profile will remain resilient.


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