Moody’s upgrades RCB Bank Ltd

Moody’s, the international rating agency, upgraded RCB Bank Ltd’s deposit ratings to B3 from Caa1, elevating it to the highest rated bank in Cyprus. This important upgrade, which was announced this last Friday, reflects RCB Bank’s new capital structure, the diversification that characterizes its earnings, the Bank’s solid capitalization and the fact that it is largely not affected by Non-Performing Loans. Moody’s upgraded rating report also referred to the Bank’s expansion of operations, including its enhanced local ones, and to RCB’s strong solvency position which is expected by Moody’s to be maintained as it stems from high capital buffers and a low NPL ratio. 

In its rating report, Moody’s notes that as of June 2015, the bank's Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 20.95%, while the ratio of NPLs to gross loans was a low 0.64% as of December 2014. Moody’s report also states that credit risk in RCB Bank's loan book is relatively contained. Moody’s outlook on the long term deposit ratings for RCB Bank remains stable. 

Commenting on this important upgrade, Dr. Kirill Zimarin, CEO of RCB Bank Ltd stated: “We are pleased to see that our dedication to our core values: Trust, Responsibility and Excellence are recognized by Moody’s latest rating of RCB Bank. This notable upgrade reflects RCB Bank’s strenuous efforts in securing the interests of its clients and in following a prudent banking model when expanding its operations both locally as well as internationally. The upgrade will allow the Bank to attract more resources, thus enabling for additional lending to Cypriot businesses and shall also lead to making loans more affordable. This development of more investments and lending will in our opinion contribute to the sustainable growth of the economy of Cyprus”.