Fitch Ratings upgrades SDM-Bank’s outlook to Stable

Fitch Ratings revised the Outlook on the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of SDM-Bank PJSC to Stable on January 20, 2021. The rating was affirmed at the current BB level. The agency believes that bank's healthy capital cushion is sufficient to absorb any further pressures from the pandemic and the challenging economic environment.

Fitch Ratings also has assessed the purchase by Expobank an 8.5% stake in SDM-Bank from Firebird Aurora Fund Ltd in January 2021, as neutral for the bank's rating, as the bank's founder and majority shareholder Anatoly Landsman retains control over the bank and no changes in corporate governance or strategy are expected.

For the first time, Fitch Ratings assigned the long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to SDM-Bank at B- level with a stable outlook on December 16, 2008. Since that SDM-Bank’s rating has been upgraded four times to the BB level.