The credit rating of “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC (hereinafter, the Bank) is based on the adequate business profile, strong capital adequacy, and adequate assessments of the risk profile, funding and liquidity. The Bank’s final credit rating is one notch higher than the standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA) as it takes into account ACRA’s opinion on the Bank’s local systemic importance, which stems from its positions in the key region of presence.
The Bank is a universal bank, one of the 20 largest credit organizations in the Russian Federation, and a major regional bank. The Bank’s operations are focused on Saint Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, and Moscow.
key assessment factors
The adequate business profile assessment (bbb+) is based on the Bank’s stable market positions in the Russian financial sector and in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region in particular. ACRA expects that over the next 12–18 months, the Bank will continue to maintain its local presence thanks to its broad regional experience and well-established partnerships with clients and local authorities.
The Bank’s main line of business continues to be lending to legal entities, the receivables from which account for almost 50% of assets. Other major areas of development include mortgage lending and securities market operations.
The Agency notes the Bank’s satisfactory diversification by sources of operating income. At the same time, at the end of 2024, amid growth of interest rates there was a rapid increase in interest income from loans to corporate clients, the share of which as a result exceeded 50% of proceeds from operations.
The strong capital adequacy is determined by the Bank’s sustainable ability to generate profits, as well as by relatively high values of regulatory ratios.
The N20.2 ratio amounted to 14.8% as of January 1, 2025, while according to the Bank’s IFRS statements, the N20.2 was 20.47% as of December 31, 2024, taking into account audited profit. ACRA also notes that as of April 1, 2025, the N1.2 ratio was 19.53% (the minimal value of the ratio over the 12 months prior to this date was 14.51%). ACRA expects the Bank to retain its sustainable capital adequacy positions in the future.
In 2024, the Bank’s IFRS net profit exceeded RUB 50.7 bln, and amounted to almost RUB 15.6 bln in Q1 2025, according to reporting form 102. The Agency notes that the current operating environment with high interest rates is favorable for the Bank and allows it to increase income from operations. The net interest margin (NIM) for 2024 was almost 7%, while the average of this metric for 2022 to 2024 was 5.9%. Moreover, on the backdrop of growing interest income, ACRA also observes an improvement in the Bank’s operational efficiency. According to the Agency’s estimates, the cost to income (CTI) ratio at the end of last year was 27.6%, while the average value for 2022–2024 was 27.9%.
The current loss absorption buffer allows the Bank to withstand credit risk growth of over 500 bps without breaching capital adequacy standards.
The adequate risk profile assessment is mostly based on the loan portfolio quality. ACRA notes that the share of IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans fell below 5% at the end of 2024. At the same time, the Agency takes into account that the decrease in the share of these loans last year is partly due to the overall increase in the volume of the loan portfolio.
At the same time, ACRA also notes a decline in the concentration of the Bank’s loan portfolio. In particular, according to IFRS reporting, the share of the Bank’s receivables due from the 20 largest borrowers declined from 44.8% to 41.5%. The continued trend toward a reduction in the share of non-performing and potential non-performing assets in the loan portfolio, while simultaneously developing a trend toward a reduction in its concentration, may be a factor in improving the risk profile assessment in the long term.
ACRA notes that the impact of other types of risk on the Bank’s activities remains moderate.
The adequate assessment of funding and liquidity is determined mainly by the sufficient reserve of liquid assets to cover the Bank’s liabilities over a 90-day horizon in ACRA’s base case scenario and a moderate liquidity deficit in the stress scenario. ACRA also notes the fairly high values of regulatory liquidity ratios. As of April 1, 2025, the N2 ratio amounted to 174.6% while the average over the past 12 months exceeded 125% (minimum value was 70.99%). The N3 ratio was 162.34% as of April 1, 2025.
On the other hand, the maturity dates of the Bank’s assets and liabilities show a relatively high liquidity gap over a short time horizon, which is explained by the short-term nature of the main volume of clients’ deposits. The risks of such a gap are partially offset by the stability of client funds, as well as by the availability of the Bank of Russia’s liquidity.
ACRA assesses the Bank’s funding structure as satisfactory as the Bank does not demonstrate increased dependence on any type of obligations. As of December 31, 2024, ACRA notes a relatively large share of funds from the largest counterparty (obligations under repurchase agreements with a central counterparty), which as of that date amounted to 14.4% of liabilities. Together with the increase in the share of funds raised from a number of other major counterparties, this resulted in growth of the concentration on the funds of the 10 largest creditors/depositors. At the same time, as of April 1, 2025, this concentration had declined.
Local importance. In ACRA’s opinion, the Bank is an important part of the economy of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Therefore, ACRA believes that in the event of stress, it can rely on state aid aimed at supporting capital or liquidity. As such, the Bank’s final credit rating takes into account one notch of support added to its SCA.
ACRA believes that disruptions, if any, in the Bank’s ongoing operations could cause problems in the financial sector and socioeconomic situation in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The Bank’s share in the total retail funds held in the banks of Saint Petersburg is substantial, which continues to be the key factor determining ACRA’s view on the Bank’s local systemic importance. In addition, the Bank services a significant amount of payments to state-funded companies in Saint Petersburg and their employees.
key assumptions
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Maintaining sustainable positions in the key regions of presence over the next 12 months;
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Maintaining at least the current levels of capitalization and asset quality, no aggressive growth of lending operations;
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Stable funding base.
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 positive rating action may be prompted by:
- Sustainably high quality of the loan portfolio amid a continued trend to its lower concentration.
A negative rating action may be prompted by:
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More aggressive development strategy or significant credit losses affecting capital adequacy metrics;
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Worse liquidity position, including larger liquidity gaps on the short-term horizon;
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Renewal of growth of concentration on the funds of the largest creditor/depositor (10 largest creditors/depositors).
rating components
SCA: a+.
Individual adjustments: none.
Systemic importance: local — SCA plus one notch
issue ratings
No outstanding issues have been rated.
regulatory disclosure
The credit rating has been assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation based on the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Banks and Bank Groups under the National Scale for the Russian Federation and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities.
The credit rating of “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC was published by ACRA for the first time on December 21, 2016. 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 “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC, information from publicly available sources, and ACRA’s own databases. The rating analysis was performed using the IFRS financial statements of “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC and the financial statements of “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC drawn up in compliance with the requirements of the Bank of Russia. The credit rating is solicited and “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC 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 “Bank “Saint-Petersburg” PJSC. No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.
