Standard Chartered Bank Nepal reaffirmed with AAA rating for 4th time

KATHMANDU: ICRA Nepal has reaffirmed the issuer rating of (ICRANP-IR) AAA to Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) for the fourth consecutive year.

The rating is considered to have the highest degree of safety regarding the timely servicing of financial obligations. Such issuers carry the lowest credit risk. This is the fourth year in a row that the Bank has received the coveted rating.

“The rating reaffirmation factors in the bank’s strong capitalisation profile with adequate cushion against the minimum regulatory requirement and its robust asset quality profile with comfortable non-performing loans (NPLs)/delinquencies, despite the sharp build up in asset quality stress across the Nepalese banking industry,” ICRA Nepal states in the rationale statement.

As of mid-Jan 2023, the bank reported a capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CAR) of 14.91% and tier-I of 13.38%, both of which were significantly higher than the minimum regulatory requirements of 11% and 8.5%, respectively. The rating also considers SCBNL’s competitive positioning, which is supported by its global brand reputation and low cost of funds.”

“The reaffirmation of AAA rating for four years in a row is strong validation of our commitment to our clients and all our stakeholders in Nepal,” said Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, CEO of Standard Chartered Nepal. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make this possible.”