Moody's upgrades long-term deposit ratings of Unibank to B1, outlook stable

Moody's has upgraded Unibank long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings to B1 from B2 and changed the outlook on these ratings to stable. The bank's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA have been upgraded to b2 from b3, long-term local and foreign currency Counterparty Risk Ratings (CRRs) to B1 from B2, and the long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment (CR Assessment) to B1(cr) from B2(cr). In addition, Moody's affirmed the Not Prime (NP) short-term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings, NP short-term local and foreign currency CRRs and the NP(cr) short-term CR Assessment.

The upgrade of Unibank's BCA and Adjusted BCA to b2 from b3 is driven by a significant improvement in loan book quality and profitability over the last two years, while maintaining strong liquidity buffers. The upgrade of the bank's long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings to B1 from B2 follows the upgrade of the BCA.

The net financial result of AMD 8.2 billion last year was largely driven by net interest income amid 35% growth in the loan portfolio. The bank's recurring revenue will continue to improve in the next 12-18 months thanks to stronger net interest margin and fee and commission income stemming from growing loan portfolio and transaction business.