“Fitch Ratings” beynəlxalq reytinq agentliyi Azərbaycanın İpoteka və Kredit Zəmanət Fondunun (İKZF) uzunmüddətli xarici və yerli valyutada emitent defolt reytinqini (BDR) “BB+” səviyyəsində təsdiqləyib

Bu barədə agentliyin açıqlamasında bildirilir.

Məlumatda həmçinin qeyd olunub ki, İKZF-ın reytinqi üzrə proqnozu "Stabil"dir.

“İpoteka və Kredit Zəmanət Fondunun Azərbaycan Respublikası ilə möhkəm əlaqəsi (BB+/Stabil) və kiçik və orta sahibkarlığın (KOB) maliyyələşdirilməsini asanlaşdırmaqla əlverişli mənzil təminatında və biznes mühitinin inkişafında Fondun strateji əhəmiyyətinə dair dəyişməz mövqeyini əks etdirir", - “Fitch" bildirir.

Qeyd edilib ki, İpoteka Kredit və Zəmanət Fondu xüsusi statuslu təşkilatdır və tam dövlətə məxsusdur. 

Dövlətlə əlaqəli şirkətlərin reytinq meyarlarına (GRE) uyğun olaraq, “Fitch” yuxarıdan aşağıya yanaşma tətbiq edir və hökumətin Fonda dəstək göstərmək qabiliyyətini və istəyini çox yüksək hesab edir: "Əlaqələrin gücü və dəstək stimulunun qiymətləndirilməsinə əsaslanaraq, “Fitch” Müstəqil Kredit Profilindən (SCP) asılı olmayaraq, Fondun reytinqini Azərbaycanın reytinqinə bərabərləşdirilib".

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Fitch Affirms Azerbaijan's Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund at 'BB+'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings - Moscow - 25 Nov 2021: Fitch Ratings has affirmed Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+'. The Outlooks are Stable. A full list of rating actions is below.

The affirmation reflects Fitch's unchanged view on the fund's strong link with the Republic of Azerbaijan (BB+/Stable) and the fund's strategic importance in the provision of affordable housing and development of the business environment by facilitating financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Under its Government-Related Entities (GRE) Criteria, Fitch applies a top-down approach and views the government's ability and willingness to provide support to the fund as very high. Based on the assessment of strength of linkage and incentive to support, Fitch equalises the fund's IDRs with those of Azerbaijan, irrespective of the fund's Standalone Credit Profile (SCP).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Status, Ownership and Control: 'Very Strong'

The fund is a special-status organisation and is fully-owned by the state. The fund cannot go bankrupt and can only be liquidated or reorganised by the decision of the President of Azerbaijan. The corporate charter implies transfer of liabilities to the state in case of the fund's dissolution. The fund's operations are tightly controlled by the central government through a trustee board, whose members are appointed by the President. The trustee board approves the fund's annual borrowings within the limits defined by the government while the Ministry of Finance monitors the fund's borrowings.

Support Track Record: 'Very Strong'

The fund continues to benefit from solid support from the state. For the purpose of social-mortgage funding it annually receives capital injections from the state, which totaled AZN161million in 2020. Apart from an initially planned AZN71million for 2020, the fund additionally received AZN90 million from the state to increase the volume of social mortgages during the pandemic. Overall, state support represented nearly 45%-50% of the fund's assets as of 2020.

The central bank's buy-back guarantee on the fund's bonds is another form of support. It implies the central bank's obligation to buy back the fund's bonds from bondholders on request. The fund is among four organisations in the country that are exempted from income tax. Other forms of indirect support include low-cost funding and profits at the fund's disposal.

Fitch expects the regulatory and political environment will remain strongly supportive of the fund at least over the medium term. For 2021 the state approved AZN71 million of capital injections into the fund and AZN16.5 million for the purpose of SME subsidies; around AZN100 million of support is planned for 2022. Most of these funds are for the provision of social mortgages, but also include funding for subsidising loans to SMEs.

Socio-Political Implications of Default: 'Very Strong'

The provision of affordable housing to population is one of the government's top strategic priorities. The fund is the only provider of subsidised mortgages in the country, and one of few institutions offering ordinary mortgages. According to management's estimates, the fund has a 70% share in the country's mortgage loans to households in Azerbaijan.

As the state's national-housing policy agent, the fund channels low-cost funding to the mortgage market, thus making mortgage loans affordable to the population. However, it also makes the fund dependent on regular access to financing. Therefore, a financial distress of the fund would, in Fitch's view, materially endanger the implementation of the national housing policy, which would lead to severe socio-political repercussions.

Financial Implications of Default: 'Strong'

The fund is a regular and one of the largest participants in the domestic bond market. In Fitch's view, its default would materially impair confidence in the national financial system and affect the availability and cost of funding for the sovereign and other national GREs. This is, to some extent, mitigated by the modest size of the Azerbaijani financial market and the fund's lack of exposure to foreign capital markets.

Operating Performance

Although the fund is a non-commercial and not-for-profit organisation, it continues to demonstrate profitability, supported by low-cost funding. In 2020 the fund recorded AZN7.2 million of profit, down from AZN18.7 million a year earlier, due to increased provisions and subdued interest revenue on the securities held by the fund. Interest revenue on mortgages increased 14% yoy in 2020. The fund's assets are dominated by mortgage loans, which amounted to AZN1.1billion in 2020, up 14% on 2019. The quality of mortgage portfolio remains stable with impaired loans representing a modest 2.8% of total mortgages in 2020, up from 1.7% in 2019.

Derivation Summary

Under its GRE Criteria, Fitch classifies the fund as an entity linked to the Republic of Azerbaijan and assigns a GRE support score at '50' out of a maximum '60', which leads to equalisation of the fund's IDRs with the sovereign's ratings, irrespective of the fund's SCP. This GRE score reflects a combination of 'Very Strong' status, ownership and control, support track record and socio-political implications of default, and 'Strong' financial implications of default.

Issuer Profile

Azerbaijan Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund is a non-for-profit entity wholly-owned by the state. The fund acts as a state policy arm in affordable housing by providing long-term mortgage lending and via a rent-to-own mechanism. Its other mission is development of the business environment in the country by providing guarantees and interest subsidies to entrepreneurs operating in non-oil sectors on loans in domestic currency.

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