0
LAHORE, Jan 9: The long-term entity rating of Atlas Investment Bank Ltd has been upgraded by the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (Pacra) to “A-” (single A minus).
A Pacra announcement said on Thursday that the short-term entity rating of the bank, however, has been maintained at “A2” (A two). These ratings are applicable to senior unsecured creditors of the bank.
The long-term ratings of both tranches of secured TFCs of Rs200 million and Rs100 million issued by the Atlas Lease Ltd (ALL), and vested in the bank following the merger of both institutions, have also been maintained at “A” (single A). These ratings denote a low expectation of credit risk and strong capacity for payment of financial commitments.
While upgrading the ratings, says the announcement, Pacra has taken note of the substantially enlarged equity base, diversified operations and other benefits achieved through the amalgamation with the ALL as well as the bank’s enhanced exposure to capital market exposing it to its inherent volatility.
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: JCR-VIS credit rating has assigned initial entity rating of A plus for the medium to long term and A one plus for short term to Meezan Bank Ltd.
“The outlook on these ratings is stable,” says a press release.
These ratings primarily reflect the strength and repute of the foreign as well as local sponsors of MBL. The bank has positioned itself very well in the niche market of Islamic banking which is evident from the growth in its operations.
“Being the pioneer in this field, the management is also involved in establishing a comprehensive and effective framework for Islamic banking and its progress in this respect has been commendable to date.”
“Capital base of MBL is very strong and quality of financing portfolio is excellent,” says the release, adding the ratings assigned to the bank are also supported by the adequacy of its control system and the emphasis placed by the management to further enhance the quality of commercial banking solutions.
But JCR-VIS says it is “concerned about the recent plans of local conventional banks to explore the Islamic banking market that is likely to pose competition especially from the big sized banks.”
