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Banks (Finance)

Moody's Upgrades Bank CenterCredit's Ratings Due to Improved Asset Quality, Profitability, and Solvency

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Bank CenterCredit's ratings, citing improvements in the bank's asset quality, profitability, and solvency. The upgraded ratings include long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings to Baa3 from Ba1, long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment to Baa3(cr) from Ba1(cr), and short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings and Counterparty Risk Ratings to Prime-3 from Not Prime. The upgrade is driven by the bank's ability to consistently decline its problem loan portfolio, reaching approximately 3.6% at the end of H1 2025, up from 4.4% at the end of 2023.

Key Takeaways:

  • Moody's upgraded Bank CenterCredit's long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings to Baa3 from Ba1, driven by the bank's improvement in asset quality, profitability, and solvency.
  • The bank has consistently declined its problem loan portfolio, reaching approximately 3.6% at the end of H1 2025, up from 4.4% at the end of 2023.
  • Bank CenterCredit has maintained strong profitability, with return on average assets exceeding 3% in 2024 and 4% during H1 2025.
  • The bank has a substantial buffer of liquid assets, exceeding 40% of tangible banking assets at the end of H1 2025.
  • Moody's expects the bank to continue to sustain its improved level of profitability over the next 12-18 months.
  • The rating action also considers the bank's potential risks stemming from an evolving competitive landscape in Kazakhstan, which fuels an appetite for growth.
  • Bank CenterCredit's Baa3 long-term deposit ratings are underpinned by its ba2 BCA and include a two-notch rating uplift, reflecting a high probability of support from the Government of Kazakhstan (Baa1 stable).

Statistics:

  • Problem loan portfolio has declined to approximately 3.6% at the end of H1 2025, up from 4.4% at the end of 2023.
  • Return on average assets exceeded 3% in 2024 and 4% during H1 2025.
  • Loan loss reserves reached 129% of problem loans at the end of H1 2025, up from 109% at the end of 2024.
  • Liquid assets exceeded 40% of tangible banking assets at the end of H1 2025.
  • Bank CenterCredit expanded its loan portfolio by 3.3 times between end-2021 and end-2024.

Sources:

  • Moody's Ratings (Moody's) news release, dated [no date provided].
  • Moody's National Scale Credit Ratings (NSRs) methodology, published in August 2022, entitled "Mapping National Scale Ratings from Global Scale Ratings Methodology".
  • Moody's Credit rating Methodology, published in November 2024, entitled "Banks".
  • Moody's Ratings methodology, available at https://ratings.moodys.com/rmc-documents/432741.

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