YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. The international Fitch Ratings has assigned the ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK a long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at "B +" with a stable outlook, the bank's press service reported today. The Yerevan-based bank attributed the assessment to its internal financial viability.

The Fitch Ratings based its assessment on ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK’s absolute leading position in financing Armenia’s agricultural sector, the saturation of the infrastructure, including the presence of branches in all regions of the country, as well as a high level of liquidity.

Fitch notes also that in recent years, in the face of a difficult macroeconomic situation, the bank has focused on improving the quality of assets, as a result of which it limited the rapid growth of its loan portfolio.

All this, in turn, helped and later stimulated a decrease in the riskiness of assets and growth in profitability. The Fitch’s assessment is the highest for companies in Armenia. It confirms the transparent financial structure of the bank and its leading position.

ACBA was established in 1996 as part of EU’s TACIS program. As a result of a long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between ACBA Bank and the French Credit Agricole the latter became the biggest shareholder of ACBA in 2006, September. ACBA was restructured, becoming a closed joint stock company and was renamed ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK. --0--