Final Rating Report
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Access Bank Plc ₦30 billion 7-year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes Due 2026 Final Rating Report 2018 Bond Rating: FBN Quest MB Funding SPV Plc 2020 Bond Rating Access Bank Plc ₦30 billion 7 Year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes Access Bank Plc ₦30 billion 7-year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes Due 2026 Rating Assigned: RATING RATIONALE A+ Agusto & Co. hereby affirms the “A+” rating assigned to Access Bank Plc’s (“Access Bank”, the Issuer” or “the Bank”) ₦30 billion 7-year 15.5% Fixed Rate Outlook: Stable Subordinated Unsecured Notes (“the Issue” or “the Bond”) due in 2026. The Issue Date: 30 June 2020 rating is a notch lower than Access Bank’s standalone “Aa-” rating issued by Expiry Date: 30 June 2021 Agusto & Co. Limited. The Bond is subordinated to other senior debt of the The rating is valid throughout the life of the Bank that may arise and it is judged to offer adequate safety of timely instrument but will be subject to periodic monitoring and review. payment of interest and principal. Bond Tenor: 7 years The rating assigned to the Issuer reflects its status as Nigeria’s largest bank (by total assets) and the experienced management team, who have Industry: Banking successfully steered the Bank through various business cycles. The rating also considers Access Bank’s good refinancing capacity buoyed by a strong Analysts: domestic franchise. However, offsetting the rating is lingering obligor concentration in the loan book and a higher impaired loan ratio. The harsh regulatory environment and economic adversities occasioned by the COVID- Mariam Dabiri, CFA 19 pandemic are also constraints to the Bank’s rating. [email protected] Access Bank Plc completed the acquisition of Diamond Bank Plc in March Ayokunle Olubunmi, CFA 2019. This propelled the Issuer to be Nigeria’s largest bank, with total assets [email protected] and contingents of ₦6.8 trillion as at FYE 2019. A key synergy anticipated from the acquisition was the defunct Diamond Bank’s retail franchise, which resulted in a material 101.8% growth in low-cost deposits to ₦1.4 trillion as at FYE 2019 and the attendant improvement in funding mix. Overall, Access Bank realised a total of circa ₦60 billion in synergies from funding cost Agusto & Co. Limited savings, recoveries, asset sales and contract renegotiations in 2019. The UBA House (5th Floor) Bank expects additional gains from cost transformation initiatives, branch 57, Marina rationalisation and optimising technology infrastructure. Lagos Nigeria Notwithstanding the identified gains from the business combination, profit before tax grew by only 9.9% to ₦82.7 billion in 2019. Growth in profits was www.agusto.com suppressed by relatively high merger-related expenses and other operational costs (including regulatory levies). This translated to a cost-to- The copyright of this document is reserved by Agusto & Co. Limited. No matter contained herein may be reproduced, duplicated or copied by any means whatsoever without the prior written consent of Agusto & Co. Limited. Action will be taken against companies or individuals who ignore this warning. The information contained in this document has been obtained from published financial statements and other sources which we consider to be reliable but do not guarantee as such. The opinions expressed in this document do not represent investment or other advice and should therefore not be construed as such. The circulation of this document is restricted to whom it has been addressed. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of the information contained herein is prohibited. 2018 Bond Rating: FBN Quest MB Funding SPV Plc 2020 Bond Rating Access Bank Plc. ₦30 billion 7-Year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes income ratio of 72.4% (FY 2018: 67.4%), higher than its selected tier 1 peers and the banking industry average. As a result of the expanded asset base and with no substantial growth in profits, pre-tax return on average assets and contingents (ROA) reduced to 1.5% (FY 2018: 1.9%) while pre-tax return on average equity declined to 16.7% (FY 2018: 17.2%). Access Bank expects additional synergies in the near-term, particularly from transaction banking income as the weak operating terrain moderates the ability to grow quality risk assets. We believe that their ability to keep costs low would be instrumental in growing profitability going forward. Due to the acquisition of a weak loan portfolio, Access Bank’s asset quality weakened year-on-year. Nevertheless, we recognise efforts to sterilise the loan book through write-offs, restructuring and aggressive recoveries. This brought about a significant decline in stage 3 or impaired loans from ₦285 billion in Q1 2019 after the business combination to ₦172.5 billion as at FYE 2019. However, the impaired loan ratio stood at 6.1% as at the same date, higher than the regulatory guidance of 5%. Considering the exposure to some vulnerable sectors including general commerce, real estate and oil and gas, we believe the loan book will need to be carefully monitored to forestall losses, particularly in a period of heightened economic risk. The Issuer’s core capital increased by 21.2% to ₦542.1 billion as at 31 December 2019 and was almost ten times higher than the regulatory minimum for banks with international authorisation. The capital base was also bolstered by the business combination and additional borrowings, which qualified as tier 2 capital. Thus, the Bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.7% (FYE 2018: 17.2%), moderately higher than the regulatory minimum of 15% but lower than its tier 1 peers. Due to increasing vulnerabilities in the loan book, we expect capital to come under pressure in the near-term. However, the Issuer has commenced the disposal of some non-earning assets which is expected to enhance balance sheet efficiency and provide adequate capital cushion. Access Bank also intends to issue another medium-term bond, which will qualify as tier 2 capital while creating headroom for loan growth. With the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, we believe the banking industry will contend with various challenges. Nevertheless, we believe Access Bank’s strong domestic franchise should sustain performance in the near-term. Based on this, a stable outlook is assigned to the rating of Access Bank Plc and the ₦30 billion 7-year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes. 2 2018 Bond Rating: FBN Quest MB Funding SPV Plc 2020 Bond Rating Access Bank Plc. ₦30 billion 7-Year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes Strengths • Nigeria's largest bank by total assets and contingents • Strong domestic franchise • Good liquidity profile and liability generating capacity • An experienced and stable management team Weaknesses • Relatively high cost-to-income ratio • Obligor concentration in the loan book • An impaired loan ratio that is above CBN's guidance Challenges • The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry • Retaining retail deposits and customers gained from the acquisition • Maintaining good profits amid regulatory constraints Table 1: Background Information Financial Data 31 December 2018 31 December 2019 Total assets & contingents ₦4.3 trillion ₦6.8 trillion Net earnings ₦231.1 billion ₦299.5 billion Pre-tax return on average assets & contingents (ROA) 1.9% 1.5% Pre-tax return on average equity (ROE) 17.2% 16.7% 3 2018 Bond Rating: FBN Quest MB Funding SPV Plc 2020 Bond Rating Access Bank Plc. ₦30 billion 7-Year 15.5% Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Notes PROFILE Access Bank Plc (“Access Bank”, “the Bank” or “the Issuer”) was incorporated in February 1989 as a private limited liability company and commenced operations in May 1989. The Bank converted to a public limited liability company in March 1998 and subsequently listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the same year. In February 2001, Access Bank was granted a universal banking license by the Central Bank of Nigeria. To expand the Bank’s retail banking footprint, in October 2011, the Issuer acquired a 75% equity stake in the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc and completed the business combination in January 2012. Between 2002 and 2007, Access Bank embarked on a growth strategy with a view to emerge as one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions. While on this journey, the Bank carried out a successful public offer of about ₦14.5 billion in 2004 and also raised US$250 million in July 2008 from the over-the-counter Global Depository Receipts (GDR). The Bank maintained its capital raising exercise through a five-year US$350 billion Eurobond in 2012, a US$400 million seven-year Eurobond in 2014 and another US$300 million in 2016. The Issuer has also successfully raised funding via various avenues including a rights issue in 2015, a Certified Green Bond and the Issue (₦30 billion Subordinated Notes) in 2019. The Bank’s principal activities include corporate/commercial banking, retail banking, money market products and services, corporate finance, equipment leasing and foreign exchange operations. Access Bank operates through four strategic business units (SBUs): corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, business banking and retail banking, each overseen by an Executive Director who reports to the Group Managing Director. In March 2019, Access Bank acquired the defunct Diamond Bank Plc via a Scheme of Merger under which all the assets (including real properties and intellectual property rights), liabilities and undertakings of Diamond Bank were transferred to the Issuer. The business combination increased the Bank’s footprint to 582 branches and service outlets across Nigeria, with about 3,177 automated teller machines (ATMs) and over 38,000 point- of-sale (POS) terminals. Also due to the business combination, Access Bank’s average staff strength in 2019 increased to 5,870 employees from 3,399 in the prior year.