ForteLeasing says Fitch Ratings upgraded the company's ratings; outlook "Stable"

12.09.23 14:51
/KASE, September 12, 2023/ – ForteLeasing JSC (Almaty), whose shares are officially listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has informed KASE about the following: quote Fitch Ratings - Frankfurt am Main - 08 Sep 2023: Fitch Ratings has upgraded JSC ForteLeasing (FL) Foreign-and Local-Currency Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB' from 'BB-' and National Long-Term Rating to 'A(kaz)' from 'A-(kaz)'. The Outlooks are Stable. Fitch has also upgraded FL's Shareholder Support Rating (SSR) to 'bb' from 'bb-'. The rating action follows the upgrade of ForteBank Joint Stock Company's (FB) Long-Term IDRs to 'BB' from 'BB-' on 31 August 2023 (see 'Fitch Upgrades ForteBank to 'BB'; Outlook Stable on www.fitchratings.com). Strong Likelihood of Support: FL's ratings are driven by Fitch's assessment of potential shareholder support and are equalised with FB's ratings, reflecting a high level of management and operational integration, strong synergies with the parent as the only entity providing leasing services to clients of the banking group, and the high reputational risk to FB in case of FL's default, given the same branding and full ownership. FB is one of the largest privately-owned banks in Kazakhstan. unquote The complete press release in Kazakh and Russian languages is available at https://kase.kz/files/emitters/TMLZ/tmlz_other_accidents_080923_1094.pdf [2023-09-12]