NDB Obtains AAA Rating from Analytical Credit Rating Agency

On January 23, 2020, the New Development Bank (NDB) was assigned ‘AAA’ rating, outlook Stable, under the international scale and ‘AAA(RU)’, outlook Stable, under the national scale for Russia by Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA).

In its press release, ACRA stated that the credit rating assigned to the NDB is primarily based on its very strong intrinsic financial strengths that stem from strong capital adequacy, a strong risk profile, strong liquidity and funding, as well as its systemic importance to the shareholder founding members that enhances the quality of commitments.

“The Bank’s management quality, strategy, and operational transparency are strong,” stated the rating agency. “ACRA believes that the management team and operational effectiveness of NDB are suitable to meet the needs required to run the institution successfully in terms of risk mitigation and capital generation.”
ACRA assessed the NDB’s risk profile as strong. “The Bank’s risk governance and management systems are in line with best practices of leading financial institutions,” noted the rating agency.

“The AAA international and local credit rating from ACRA is yet another significant milestone for the New Development Bank. The rating increases our ability to deliver on the NDB’s strong strategic focus on local currency financing in its member countries,” said Mr. Leslie Maasdorp, NDB Vice President and CFO. “Fundraising in rubles would be an essential part of our operations in Russia and a core element of our funding portfolio for financing ruble-denominated loans in Russia,” he added.

The full press release announcing ACRA decision is available here.

The document entitled “ACRA assigns AAA to New Development Bank, outlook Stable, under the international scale and AAA(RU), outlook Stable, under the national scale for the Russian Federation” is entirely the copyright of, and is reproduced with the permission of ACRA.

Background Information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR).