On June 9, 2021, the international rating agency Moody's Investors Service assigned long-term ratings B1 with a stable outlook to JSC First Heartland Jusan Bank (Jusan Bank) for its deposits in national and foreign currencies.
Moody's noted that the ratings indicated a high level of the bank's liquid assets and a strong capital base. The bank's pool of liquid assets is about 60% of the total consolidated assets, whereas the ratio of capital to assets, weighted against risks, is around 29%, which is four times higher than the regulatory minimum. The ratings are also indicative of Jusan Bank's substantial size within Kazakhstan's banking sector, with its market share reaching around 9% by assets as of April 1, 2021, taking into consideration the acquisition of ATF Bank.
"The Moody's rating is unbiased recognition of Jusan Bank's current strong financial standing, which was achieved by two key factors. Firstly, we have carried out an enormous task to revive the troubled portfolio inherited from Tsesnabank through debt collections, the restructuring of potentially earning assets and the refinancing of the loan portfolio by other banks. All credits with signs of fraud have been submitted to the law enforcement agencies.
Secondly, in accordance with Jusan Bank's new development strategy, we have created an ecosystem of digital financial services based on three technological platforms: Jusan Retail, Jusan Business and Jusan Private Banking,” says Aibek Kayip, chairman of the management board at Jusan Bank.
"The new Jusan mobile application has been downloaded more than one million times within just a year. Jusan app has become increasingly popular and actively used by over half a million of users. It includes JMart marketplace, which offers 200,000 commodities and services, and a unique online service Jusan Investments, as well as Jusan Insurance and Jusan Mobile services. The number of Jusan Bank's SME clients is expected to exceed 140,000 upon acquisition of ATF Bank. They have also been provided with the new Internet banking services and sophisticated user-friendly digital solutions. As for Jusan Investments, according to the 2020 results, the number of clients of this service has tripled compared to 2019. All these projects were achieved due to the colossal efforts of the bank's entire team, which ensured high financial and business performance and resulted in an increase of the bank's client base and great profits."
At present, Jusan Bank complies with all prudential requirements and has a high stability margin: according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, as of May 1, 2021, the capital adequacy ratio (k1) of Jusan Bank was 31.5%, which exceeded the statutory requirements by over four times. The absolute liquid ratio (k4) was over 13 times higher than the statutory requirements and reached 399.8%.
Moody’s analysts believe that a stable outlook for the ratings is indicative of the sound credit strength of Jusan Bank thanks to its high liquidity and capital adequacy for the forthcoming 12 to 18 months.
When assigning the ratings, the agency's opinion was based on a comprehensive assessment Jusan Bank's current performance indicators. They also considered the acquisition of ATF Bank. Upon the acquisitions completion at the end of 2021, it is expected that Jusan Bank will become one of the three largest banks in Kazakhstan by total assets.
