Fitch affirms Coronation Merchant Bank's rating at B-
News provided by World News Media
LONDON, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nigeria's Coronation Merchant Bank has become the first and only merchant bank in Nigeria to receive an international rating by global rating agency Fitch.
In its recently released Rating Report, Fitch assigned the Bank a Long Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B-' with a Negative Outlook, a Viability Rating (VR) of 'b-' and a Long-Term Rating of 'BBB(nga)'. The Bank's Long- and Short-Term IDRs are driven by its standalone credit profile as determined by its VR.
Coronation Merchant Bank's Long- and Short-Term Rating are evidence of the bank's creditworthiness relative to other issuers in Nigeria. Its VR reflects the challenging and volatile operating environment in the country, which FitchF assigned a national rating of 'B'; Outlook Negative. This is also true of the Negative Outlook on the bank's Long-Term IDR.
In a statement, Fitch said that the bank's management team demonstrated "a high degree of credibility, experience and depth commensurate with the complexity of the business". The agency also noted Coronation Merchant Bank's good asset quality, with the bank reporting a zero impaired loans (IFRS 9 Stage3)/gross ratio on 30 June 2020, which has also been the case for the last four financial years.
Commenting on the Report, Banjo Adegbohungbe, Managing Director/CEO of Coronation Merchant Bank said, "The bank's bold decision to proceed with an internationally accepted rating despite the challenging and uncertain operating environment is a testament to the bank's confidence, transparency and determination to continue to enhance its capacity to add value to its clients and stakeholders. We consider this to be a historic milestone on our journey to greatness."
Also commenting on the international rating, Chukwukadibia Okoye, the Chief Financial Officer of the bank, said, "Despite the volatility of our operating environment and additional headwinds occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, the bank will continue to improve on its financial soundness and healthy balance sheet to deliver sustainable earnings and profitability."
To read more about Coronation Merchant Bank and its contribution to Nigeria's financial landscape, check out World Finance magazine online.
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