BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 17. International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has turned around the outlook on the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of JSC TBC Leasing (TBCL), a leasing company within the TBC Bank group, shifting it from negative to stable while standing by the rating at BB (ratings that point to an elevated vulnerability to default risk), Trend reports, citing Fitch Ratings.
The shareholder support rating (SSR) was also confirmed at BB.
"Fitch believes that TBC Bank’s willingness to support TBCL is high, reflected in full ownership, shared branding, integration, a history of capital and liquidity support, and significant reputational risk in the event of a subsidiary default. Potential support is manageable for TBC Bank, given the small scale of the subsidiary: TBCL accounts for less than 2% of TBC Bank’s capital and net profit. The stable IDR outlook for TBCL mirrors that of the parent bank," the report reads.
Fitch analysts also pointed out that withholding support for TBCL would cause substantial reputational damage to TBC Bank among its key creditors, potentially undermining the bank’s business model and growth potential.
"Foreign creditors of TBCL largely overlap with international financial institutions (IFIs) and investors from whom TBC Bank sources a significant portion of its wholesale funding. TBCL’s standalone credit profile does not determine its IDR, due to its single-line business model, relatively weak asset quality, high risk appetite, and tolerance for substantial debt levels," Fitch further reads.
TBCL functions solely within the Georgia market ecosystem, where
it maintains a dominant position, capturing an impressive 86%
market share by the midpoint of 2025. The organization
predominantly engages in the provision of financial leasing
solutions tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well
as corporate clientele, encompassing TBC Bank stakeholders, while
also extending services, albeit to a reduced degree, to
microbusinesses and individual consumers.
Despite TBCL constituting a mere fraction of TBC Bank’s asset base,
its strategic importance within the overarching product ecosystem
of the parent entity has escalated in recent fiscal periods.