June 30, 2021
By Moody’s Investors Service
Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Access Bank Plc and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review discussion held on 14 June 2021 in which Moody’s reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody’s practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.
This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement.
Key rating considerations are summarized below
Access Bank Plc’s (Access) B2 long-term deposit ratings incorporate one notch of government support uplift from the bank’s b3 baseline credit assessment (BCA), based on our view of high probability of support from the Government of Nigeria in case of need.
Access’ b3 BCA reflects the bank’s solid profitability, robust risk management, sound deposit-based funding and solid local currency liquidity. However, these strengths are moderated by the challenging operating environment in Nigeria, combined with the bank’s high exposure to the cyclical oil and gas sector, and to loans denominated in foreign currency.
