OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B+/B' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings of Vneshprombank Ltd. and its 'ruA+' Russia national scale rating. The outlook is stable.

Accordint to the S&P's press-release, Vneshprombank will prove less susceptible to the economic conditions than its domestic peers because its capitalization provides it with an adequate buffer against unexpected losses and it has relatively good asset quality and ample liquidity.

Moreover, it is said that Vneshprombank may benefit from its conservative risk position while the market is disrupted. Its single-party loan concentrations are lower than those of its domestic peers. Nonperforming loans account for less than 1% of total loans, which is substantially lower than the sector average. Its deposit base has been fairly stable and we have not seen

any panic-driven outflows at the end of 2013 or in 2014. In the first quarter of 2014, retail deposits increased by 10.2% and corporate deposits grew by 4.7%.

Vneshprombank started its activity in July 1995. According to Interfax EAC, at the end of the first quarter of 2014 the bank occupied the 39th position as to the amount of net assets, which was equal to 172,793,328 thousand rubles. As to the amount of the shareholders' equity, which is 13,510,179 thousand rubles according to the Agency, the Bank occupies the 50th position. As on January 1, 2014, Vneshprombank is the first in the Profile journal's rating, which highlights the most reliable of 100 largest commercial Russian banks.