OREANDA-NEWS. National Rating Agency has lowered its national scale credit rating on Investtorgbank PJSC JSCB to 'ВВ' and placed the rating on its Watchlist with indefinite implications. On Aug. 19, 2010, the bank was assigned NRA's credit rating of 'A+', which was raised to 'AA-' on Sept. 21, 2011, affirmed with a negative outlook on May 13, 2015, lowered to 'A+'/ Negative on Aug. 20, 2015 and lowered to 'BBB'/ Negative on Aug. 24, 2015.

The rating downgrade is driven by Investtorgbank's problems with executing customer payment orders, which stem from the earlier noted August 2015 reduction in its liquid assets combined with the outflow of corporate and retail deposits; low capital adequacy (N1 = 10.44% as of Aug. 1, 2015); fast increase in loan loss provisions that led to the bank posting heavy losses this year (RUB2.15 billion as of Aug. 1, 2015); the 2Q 2015 loan quality deterioration, evidenced by both absolute and relative increase in non-performing loans, rising proportion of loans in the IV and V risk categories and the growing single-name concentration on the bank's loan book.

Additionally, the bank has been placed under external administration by the Deposit Insurance Agency. The rating is under review from the time of its being put on the Watchlist with indefinite implications.

Incorporated in March of 1994, Investtorgbank is currently controlled by its top managers. From June 2008, its shareholder structure includes two foreign investors, JCF FPK I AIV ITB S.`a.r.l. (a limited-liability company) and Starr Russia Investments III B.V. (a private limited-liability company), each holding a 19.99% stake. Investtorgbank operates under the Central Bank of Russia's general license (No. 2763) and holds membership in different professional banking unions and associations. It joined the obligatory deposit insurance framework in January 2005 (Reg. No. 409).