OREANDA-NEWS. RusRating has assigned a credit rating to Spurt Bank (Kazan). The rating is “BBB” on the national scale and “BB” on the international scale, in both cases with a stable outlook.

According to the agency, the rating is based on the financial and political resources of the Bank's owners; a strategic capital investment by the EBRD; a stable client base drawn from large and creditworthy regional enterprises; and low realised credit risks.

Constraining factors include insufficient information to assess the capacity of the Bank's owners to provide support; a client base whose health in part depends on regional economic conditions; and the modest size of the Bank's business on a national scale.

Spurt Bank is a smaller private-sector regional bank and the sixth largest by assets in the Republic of Tatarstan. Its shareholders include Management Chairman Yevgenia Dautova plus several commercial firms and their representatives, among them those with links to major regional enterprises and government bodies. The EBRD has been a strategic investor since 2007 and holds a blocking stake. Leading firms in the regional oil, gas and petrochemicals industry are the Bank's key clients, although recent years have seen active development of its retail business and SME services backed by loans from the EBRD, KfW and Russia's state-owned SME Bank. Spurt Bank has a moderately well-developed regional service network and a noticeable presence in interbank loans. Securities market activity is modest.

Capital is sufficient and of good quality. External funding is diversified by instrument type, with retail deposits and targeted loans from the EBRD and KfW the largest components of liabilities; historically funding has been stable but is dependent on business contacts between the Bank's owners and major Tatarstan companies. Asset quality is rated satisfactory, based mainly on analysis of the loan book. Profitability is low against the background of an acceptable interest margin. Overall risk sensitivity is moderate. Liquidity is sufficient.