Moody's assign E+ bank financial strength rating to Unibank

PanARMENIAN.Net - On 3 June, 2010Moody's Investors Service has assigned a bank financial strength rating (BFSR) of E+ to Armenia's Unibank CJSC, as well as Ba3 long-term and Not-Prime short-term global local currency deposit ratings and Ba3 long-term and Not-Prime short-term foreign currency deposit ratings.

The outlook on all ratings is stable. "The ratings take into account the bank's good franchise strength, which is enhanced by the exclusive right to operate the Unistream money transfer system, representing a 50% stake of the lucrative money transfer business in Armenia," says Stathis Kyriakides, AVP-Analyst and lead analyst for Armenian banks at Moody's office in Limassol.

The system is the proprietorship of the Russian Unistream bank, majority owned by Unibank's ultimate beneficial owners. Given that remittances constitute 20% of Armenia's GDP, Moody's believes that the success of the Unistream system in penetrating the Armenian market enhances Unibank's franchise value and brand awareness. The bank's dominant presence in the money transfer business affords it good access to primary deposits and offers cross-selling opportunities. The bank exhibits good capitalisation ratios following successive capital injections (the most recent in March 2010) which enables it to withstand some deterioration in asset quality, Unibank press service reported.