Fitch Ratings rated Russia-based Home Credit and Finance Bank at BB- in terms of long-term Issuer Default Ratings in national and foreign currencies, with Stable Rating Outlook.

The bank’s ratings are supported by its good profitability, reasonable asset quality throughout the economic cycle, and clever risk management as well as its great capacity to generate monetary resources and its impressive capitalization. At the same time, even though the bank had its funds diversified considerably due to deposits, these deposits still have to stand the test of time and prove stable. What is more, the risk of having to refinance the financial market resources is still rather significant,’ says Fitch’s Financial Organizations Director Vladimir Markelov.

The agency says Home Credit & Finance Bank is now the leader on the Russian POS consumer lending market, with this type of lending making up about a half of the bank’s portfolio. Fitch feels the business will still be profitable in Russia in the short and medium run, unless some new, stricter regulations are introduced; however, the margins are expected gradually to go down due to stronger competition.