GCR Affirms Sterling Bank’s BBB Rating With Stable Outlook

International rating agency, Global Credit Ratings, GCR, over the weekend affirmed Sterling Bank’s national long-term and short- term ratings of BBB(NG) and A3(NG) respectively, with stable outlook.

This rating which is valid until July 2017 comes after another global ratings agency, Moody’s Investors Service, affirmed the bank’s local and foreign currency issuer ratings of B2 with stable outlook.

Moody’s had described Sterling Bank as a stable financial institution with solid asset quality, robust Information Technology and risk management processes, and high liquidity buffers.

The Agency also assigned a Counterparty Risk Assessment (CRA) of B1(cr)/Not Prime(cr) to the Bank with stable outlook. It attributed the rating to the bank’s strong performance and resilience amidst challenging operating conditions.

“Sterling’s total assets amounted to N796.4 billion (representing a market share of 2.8 per cent) at FYE15. The bank’s capital base grew 12.2 per cent in FYE15, solely through internal capital generation, with the risk weighted capital adequacy ratio (“RWCAR”) improving to 17.5 per cent at FYE15 (FYE14: 14.0 per cent).” It said.

Notwithstanding the 100 basis points contraction recorded in net interest margin, Sterling Bank, according to the Agency, reported a net profit after tax (“NPAT”) of N10.3billion for FYE15, representing an improvement of 14.4 per cent in the 2014 operating year.