OREANDA-NEWS. National Rating Agency has affirmed its national scale 'BBB+' credit rating on Investment Bank VESTA (VESTA).

The rating affirmation is driven by VESTA's strong internal and regulatory liquidity ratios; accumulated liquidity cushion, which enabled the bank to fulfill its obligations to customers (including those that came due in December 2014) in a timely manner without jeopardizing its operating performance; high quality equity capital commensurate with the loan portfolio; strong capital adequacy

and healthy security-to-loan ratio (with loan coverage of 417%). NRA also notes the maintained low level of non-performing loans; good quality trading portfolio (accounting for 28% of VESTA's net assets), suitable as a source of additional liquidity; and enhancing technological capabilities that allow the bank to streamline its business processes and cut its costs.

Partially offsetting these strengths are the bank's deteriorated loan quality (with corporate and retail loans in the IV and V risk categories increased to 37% from 27% at the beginning of the year); and the large share of renegotiated loans, represented mostly by the liabilities of three large borrowers.