OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's has affirmed the international ratings of ВВ-/В and the national rating of ruAA- assigned to NOMOS-BANK and the Bank of Khanty-Mansiysk and В+/В and ruAA+ assigned to Otkritie Bank.

All of the three Otkritie banks' ratings are with a stable outlook. Despite the economic downturn in the country and the resulting downgrade of the ratings of many Russian lending institutions, the agency did not downgrade any of the ratings of Otkritie Group's banks.

According to S&P, NOMOS-BANK, Otkritie banking group's parent entity, is able to successfully handle the risks associated with the current macroeconomic situation. The agency points out that the risks associated with the integration processes within the group on which previous ratings were based have decreased because all of the integration procedures are carried out in strict compliance with the plans voiced earlier. That is why the bank's risk is assessed as “moderate”. S&P's analysts expect that the quality of the group's assets will remain on a par with the figures of top Russian banks.

As regards the Bank of Khanty-Mansiysk and Otkritie Bank, the agency believes that the entity to be established as a result of the merger of the two banks will be of greater strategic importance to Otkritie Group than the two banks severally, because its individuals' deposits will amount to at least RUB 150 billion and its assets will account for about 40% of the group's assets. The agency points out that the new, bigger entity's creditworthiness will probably be higher because of a higher eligibility to support from the group which may qualify the united bank as its “key asset”.

All of the three banks have ratings with a stable outlook: the agency believes that during the next 18 months Otkritie's strategic and operational transformations will be successful. Capitalisation and key business figures of NOMOS-BANK, the group's parent entity, will remain where they are now and the new united bank established on the basis of the Bank of Khanty-Mansiysk and Otkritie Bank will be able to strengthen its market position and qualify as the group's “key subsidiary”.

That is why S&P believe that the risk portfolio of Otkritie Group's banks will be better than that of similar lending institutions with similar ratings, amid the continuing economic recession in Russia.