BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 23
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Fitch Ratings assigned a final 'BB-' (Stable Outlook) rating to the issue of senior unsecured Eurobonds of National Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Uzbekistan JSC (NBU), Trend reports referring to the press service of Fitch Ratings.
The issue of senior unsecured Eurobonds of NBU amounts to $300 million at a rate of 4.85 percent maturing on October 21, 2025.
The NBU plans to use the proceeds from this issue to finance foreign currency loans.
The assignment of the final rating follows the receipt of release documentation that matches the information previously provided. The final rating is in line with the expected rating assigned to the unsecured bonds on October 12, 2020.
The rating is on par with the NBU's long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BB-', as the bonds represent the bank's unconditional, senior unsecured obligations, equal in priority to its other senior unsecured obligations.
'BB-' rating of NBU IDR is driven by Fitch's view of a moderate likelihood of support from the government of Uzbekistan.
This opinion takes into account the high systemic importance of the NBU, as evidenced by the largest share of banking system assets (25 percent at the end of 2019) and the fact that the NBU is the only bank that the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU) classifies as systemically important financial institutions of the country, as well as the fact that the bank is 100 percent owned by the state.
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