The BSTDB Credit Rating is Upgraded to A3 by Moody’s

Press Release | 30-Sep-2010

The credit rating of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has been upgraded today from Baa1 to A3 with stable outlook by Moody’s Investors Service.

The credit rating agency said that the main reasons for BSTDB’s upgrade are the resilience of the Bank’s asset quality, liquidity and profitability despite the very difficult environment in the Black Sea region during the global crisis.

Another important reason was an agreement among the Bank’s shareholders to triple the Bank’s authorized capital and double its subscribed capital which is currently being implemented. In Moody’s view, the capital increase signifies the strength of shareholders’ commitment to the BSTDB, demonstrated despite a very difficult macroeconomic environment for some member countries.

“After several years of hard work since being awarded an investment grade rating the BSTDB has just joined the group of A-rated financial institutions working in the Black Sea region. We are confident that this rating - higher than that of any of the Bank’s shareholding countries - will increase BSTDB's ability to access international capital markets on competitive terms, thus facilitating the implementation of our developmental mandate in the region” stated Andrey Kondakov, BSTDB President. He added that “the Bank will continue its efforts to create conditions for further rating upgrade, including through exploring the possibility of attracting a new AAA-rated shareholder”.  

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The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters is in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is SDR 3 billion (approx. USD 4,5 billion). BSTDB is rated A3 by Moody’s.

Press Contact

Haroula Christodoulou

Tel: +30 2310 290533

Email: cchristodoulou@bstdb.org