Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") re-affirms Ameriabank ("the Bank") Ba3 long-term local currency deposit rating with a stable outlook.

The rating action occurs amid COVID-19 outbreak and despite the challenging environment, Moody’s re-affirmed the Bank’s rating and kept the outlook intact – stable. Since March 2020, Armenia's banking system has been challenged by the coronavirus outbreak, which has led to strict social distancing measures taken by the Government of Armenia.   

According to Moody’s, Ameriabank's loans to SME segment (most vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak) accounted for 17.4% of the Bank's total loans. The Bank's loans to individuals accounted for 25% of the total loan book, and were almost equally split between mortgages and consumer loans. Moody’s expects that the Bank's pre-provision income of 2019 provides a good buffer for absorbing expected credit losses without a weakening in the Bank's capital. Despite the challenging environment, the rating agency also expects that the Bank’s funding and liquidity profiles will remain broadly stable.

The management of the Bank believes that the rating affirmation of Ameriabank's Ba3 long-term local currency deposit rating with a stable outlook is in line with the strong asset quality, robust profitability and well-diversified loan book structure. These factors and accumulated financial cushions will mitigate the negative impact of the unfolding crisis.

Bank Deposits Local Currency: Ba3/NP
Bank Deposits Foreign Currency: B1/NP
Baseline Credit Assessment: ba3
Counterparty Risk Assessment: Ba2(cr)/NP
Outlook: stable