The credit rating of Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance JSC (hereinafter, EXIAR, or the Company) is on par with the credit rating of the financial liabilities of the Government of the Russian Federation under the national scale, which stems from the very high likelihood of the government providing extraordinary support to EXIAR. The standalone creditworthiness of the Company does not influence its credit rating.
EXIAR is a specialized state export support institution for implementation of insurance tools for protection of export credits and investments. EXIAR is the national export credit agency. The Company operates based on Federal Law No. 164-FZ “On the fundamentals of government regulation of foreign economic activity” dated December 8, 2003 and regulations of the Russian Government. At the same time, EXIAR does not have an insurance company license and is thereby not regulated as one by the Bank of Russia.
The main purpose of EXIAR’s activity is to support high-tech exports and investments abroad through the insurance of business and (or) political risks. As per its mandate, the Company can also support priority imports of products and services to the Russian Federation. The Company interacts with the relevant government agencies of the Russian Federation on issues of supporting foreign trade, including the government, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and accumulates expertise and international experience.
KEY ASSESSMENT FACTORS
Very high support assessment. EXIAR is related to the government — it functions based on a special regulation, and the state has provided government guarantees for the Company’s liabilities with regard to its core operations and controls its activities, including via the corporate management structure of the group of companies that EXIAR is a member of.
In ACRA’s opinion, if necessary the Company will be provided sufficient long-term and short-term financing, including capital injections, in view of the following:
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The Company is a development institution that carries out the state’s measures to support exports and imports. Transferring its functions to commercial organizations would be complicated and unlikely to be carried out in full;
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The state exerts considerable influence on the Company’s strategy and operations;
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A potential default of the Company may lead to significant losses for the budget and also have a negative impact on the banking sector due to the need to create additional reserves;
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The state has previously provided EXIAR support in the form of capital injections necessary to successfully implement its development strategy. The Company’s performance of its obligations under insurance and reinsurance contracts is secured by state guarantees of the Russian Federation.
The degree of dependence of the Company and the state on homogenous risk factors is assessed as high.
Given the abovementioned factors, the credit rating of the Company is set at AAA(RU).
The Company’s market and financial indicators reflect the specifics of its activities. Operating efficiency indicators are rather volatile, including due to the impact of foreign exchange risks. In addition, the materialization of major risks has a significant impact on fluctuations in unprofitability. At the same time, ACRA notes that this volatility is characteristic for export credit agencies. The growth of insurance premiums primarily reflects the situation with export-import operations and related investments.
Capital adequacy and liquidity metrics assessed on the basis of the Company’s 2022 IFRS reporting are high. The Company’s assets are primarily deposits made with major Russian banks and securities of high-quality Russian issuers. At the same time, there is a high concentration in terms of investments in the liabilities of related parties.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
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The state maintaining ultimate control over the Company;
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The state’s continued willingness to provide regular and extraordinary support to the Company.
POTENTIAL OUTLOOK OR RATING CHANGE FACTORS
The Stable outlook assumes that the rating will highly likely stay unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.
A negative rating action may be prompted by:
- A decline in the state’s willingness to provide regular and extraordinary support to the Company.
RATING COMPONENTS
Standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA): none.
Adjustments: none.
Support: on par with the RF.
ISSUE RATINGS
There are no outstanding issues.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURE
The credit rating has been assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation based on the Methodology for Analyzing Rated Entities Associated with a State or a Group and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities.
A credit rating has been assigned to Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance JSC for the first time. The credit rating and its outlook are expected to be revised within one year following the publication date of this press release.
The credit rating was assigned based on data provided by Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance JSC, information from publicly available sources, and ACRA’s own databases. The credit rating is solicited and Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance JSC participated in its assignment.
In assigning the credit rating, ACRA used only information, the quality and reliability of which were, in ACRA’s opinion, appropriate and sufficient to apply the methodologies.
ACRA provided additional services to Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance JSC. No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.