Moody's Ratings' stable outlook on its rating for Hungary's MBH BET:MKBBANK reflects the view that the bank's credit profile will remain broadly unchanged over the next 12-18 months, the ratings agency's vice president and senior analyst Katja Reise said on Monday.
Moody's affirmed MBH Bank's Baa3 long-term deposit rating and maintained a stable outlook on March 20.
Here are some details:
The key opportunity for MBH is its profit-generation potential after its 2023 formation through a three-way merger of the former MKB, Budapest Bank and Magyar Takarek Bank, and its 2024 acquisition of Fundamenta, and its resulting strengthened market position.
The main bank-specific risks result from this ambitious integration and would increase in the event of any additional acquisitions in the near term.
Moody's expects some further pressure on MBH's asset quality, especially among corporate borrowers, due to still-high policy rates, relatively high lending concentrations, and underlying challenges in the domestic operating environment.
Moody's credit view on MBH incorporates the fact that it has yet to establish a track record of its post-merger strategy, integrating past acquisitions and leveraging its earnings and efficiency potential as Hungary's second-largest bank, while operating within a stable risk framework.