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Our 'A-' rating on Kredittforeningen for Sparebanker reflects the company's strong capitalization and asset quality as well as the low liquidity risk due to a matched loan and funding structure
Geir Kristiansen, Credit Rating Analyst at Nordic Credit Rating AS (NCR) and primary analyst for the company
We believe that this will lead to higher margins on mortgage loans to offset lower margin requirements for SME customers. We also expect that large banks with low levels of SME loans will be able to cut lending rates more and therefore stand to gain market share
Geir Kristiansen, credit analyst at NCR
Our 'BBB+' rating on Sparbanken Västra Mälardalen reflects the bank's very strong capitalisation, its regional focus and low complexity. The bank operating model contributes to significant capital buffers which offset some of the risks associated with its small operating environment
Sean Cotten, Lead Analyst at Nordic Credit Rating AS (NCR) and primary analyst for Sparbanken Västra Mälardalen
The Riksbank has a difficult decision about what to do on December 20th, however, the eventual unwind of expansionary monetary policy is already underway and the repo rate is only one of the upward pressures on Swedish mortgage rates
Sean Cotten, Lead analyst for financial institutions at Nordic Credit Rating
Our 'A-' rating on Sparbanken Rekarne reflects the bank's relative capitalisation, its regional operating environment and the potential for ownership support. The bank is growing by retaining a higher share of loans in its balance sheet and has demonstrated access to capital markets with two senior unsecured issues of SEK 500m in 2018 to complete its retail deposit base.
Sean Cotten, Lead Analyst at Nordic Credit Rating AS (NCR) and primary analyst for Sparbanken Rekarne
Our 'A' rating on SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus reflects the bank's best-in-class profitability, benign operating environment and strong capitalisation. The bank also has ample access to funding through deposits and the well-functioning covered-bond market in Norway
Geir Kristiansen, Credit Rating Analyst at Nordic Credit Rating AS (NCR) and primary analyst for SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus
Competition is increasing for the incumbent banks, but, generally, the banks remain positive outliers in terms of capital, earnings and loss performance among global peers.
Sean Cotten, Lead Analyst for financial institutions
We are proud to be a part of the Nordic capital markets by publishing our first credit rating”, says Gustav Liedgren, CEO of NCR, and adds “it has been an intense process to reach this point, but we are confident that the market will be happy with the quality of our analysis and the relevance of our credit ratings.
Gustav Liedgren, CEO
Our 'BBB+' rating on Vacse reflects the company's strong and defensive portfolio, high operating efficiency and moderate leverage, supported by strong owners. The rating does, however, also reflect a relatively short funding profile, as well as the limited scale and diversification of the company.
Michael Andersson, Chief Rating Officer
We find that by making a few adjustments to improve RWA comparability, the average CET1 ratio for the Norwegian IRB banks increases from 16.4% to 18.2%, while the average CET 1 ratio for the largest Swedish banks is reduced from 21.2% to 17.3% as of end-2017
Geir Kristiansen, Credit rating analyst
We believe that an increasing number of issuers in the real estate sector are moving towards 'investment grade' assessments, meaning 'bbb-' and higher.
Michael Andersson
“The fall of 2018 is expected to see a number of new SNP issuers come to market”, says Sean Cotten, Lead Analyst for financial institutions at NCR, and adds “regulators are finalising SNP regulation and banks are preparing investors for coming issuance.”
Sean Cotten
Our ratings will add transparency to the bond markets and that will ultimately benefit all market participants.
Gustav Liedgren, CEO
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Norwegian credit institution Kredittforeningen for Sparebanker Assigned 'A-' Rating; Outlook Stable

On 13 February 2019, Nordic Credit Rating assigned its 'A-' long-term and 'N-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings to Kredittforeningen for Sparebanker, a Norwegian credit institution which provides medium- and long-term senior loans to savings banks. The outlook is stable. In addition, the company's senior unsecured debt was rated 'A-'.Rating rationaleOur 'A-' long-term issuer rating on Kredittforeningen for Sparebanker (KfS) reflects the company's strong capitalisation and low risk appetite. KfS is a cooperative, non-profit credit institution serving its member Norwegian savings banks.

Norwegian bank's SME discount likely to be financed by mortgage customers

In 2019, Norway is set to implement EU capital requirement regulations not already incorporated in domestic legislation. These regulations, the capital requirements regulation (CRR) and the capital requirements directive (CRD IV), include capital discounts for banks' SME customers. In our view, given the Norwegian financial supervisory authority's (FSA's) ambition to uphold banks' total core equity requirements through higher Pillar 2 requirements, reduced capital charges for SME customers are likely to be financed by higher capital charges for other customers. In the case of Norwegian

Swedish Savings Bank Sparbanken Västra Mälardalen Assigned 'BBB+' Rating; Outlook Stable

On 9 January 2019, Nordic Credit Rating assigned its 'BBB+' long-term and 'N-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings to Sparbanken Västra Mälardalen, a Swedish regional savings bank. The outlook is stable. In addition, the bank's senior unsecured debt was rated 'BBB+'.Rating rationaleOur 'BBB+' long-term issuer rating on Sweden-based Sparbanken Västra Mälardalen (SBVM) reflects the bank's very strong capitalisation and regional focus. As a savings bank, SBVM's operations are focused on a specific geographical region and it is operated without an owner or a focus on profit maximisation.

Upward pressure on Swedish mortgage rates goes beyond Riksbank decision

On 20 December 2018, the Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) will announce whether it will raise its primary policy rate, or repo rate, for the first time since July 2011. It is uncertain whether the rate hike will happen now given weak inflation figures, slowing domestic growth, ongoing Brexit negotiations and a growing consensus that the global economy is wavering. However, a recent 25 bps increase in three-month STIBOR could indicate that the market expects a hike.NCR believes that although a repo rate hike is likely to result in higher mortgage rates, as was the case after a September

Swedish Savings Bank Sparbanken Rekarne Assigned 'A-' Rating; Outlook Stable

On 4 December 2018, Nordic Credit Rating assigned its 'A-' long-term and 'N-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings to Sparbanken Rekarne, a Swedish regional savings bank. The outlook is stable. In addition, the bank's senior unsecured debt was rated 'A-'. To download the full rating report, visit our ratings and research page .Rating rationaleOur 'A-' long-term issuer rating on Sparbanken Rekarne reflects the bank's regional market and its relationship and cooperation with 50% owner, Swedbank AB. Rekarne's operations are focused on

Norwegian Savings Bank SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus Assigned 'A' Rating; Outlook Stable

On 28 November 2018, Nordic Credit Rating assigned its 'A' long-term and 'N-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings to SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus, a Norwegian regional savings bank. The outlook is stable. In addition, the bank's senior unsecured debt was rated 'A', its Tier 2 capital instruments 'A-' and its Tier 1 instruments 'BBB'. The full rating report can be downloaded here .Rating rationaleOur 'A' long-term issuer rating on SpareBank 1 Østfold Akershus

Swedish banking market is strong, despite potential housing market volatility

Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) applies a score of 'a-' for the Swedish banking market and views the domestic operating environment as stable. Swedish banks have outperformed most international peers in recent years due to steady lending growth and increased margins. Sweden's economy has been spurred by significant construction activity to address a material housing shortage and accommodate the growing population. However, we expect rising interest rates and a recalibration of housing prices to reduce the pace of capital investment and weigh on economic growth over the next two years. The banking

Norwegian banks demonstrate further strength

Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) applies a score of ' a' for the Norwegian banking market and expects the domestic operating environment to be rather benign for Norwegian banks over the next two to three years. Despite higher capital requirements, Norwegian banks have outperformed European peers in terms of earnings and efficiency and have managed a downturn in the oil and offshore segment with robust loss performance in recent years. The banking market score is a component of NCR’s issuer ratings for financial institutions. Depending on the nature of the rated entity’s exposure and geographic

Nordic Credit Rating publishes its first credit rating

Today Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) published its inaugural issuer rating to Swedish real estate company, Vacse AB . The rating rationale and credit analysis are available at Sweden-based Vacse AB Assigned 'BBB+' Rating; Outlook Stable , 25 Oct. 2018.The first public rating follows the publication of NCR’s rating methodologies on 14 Aug. 2018 and NCR’s registration as a credit rating agency by the European Securities and Markets Authority (

Sweden-based Vacse AB Assigned 'BBB+' Rating; Outlook Stable

On 25 October 2018, Nordic Credit Rating assigned its 'BBB+' long-term and 'N-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings to Vacse AB (publ), a Swedish real-estate management company focused on leasing to public-sector entities. The outlook is stable. In addition, Vacse's senior unsecured debt was rated 'BBB+'.Rating rationaleOur 'BBB+' long-term issuer rating on Vacse reflects the company's strong portfolio of modern, tailor-made properties leased on very long contracts (averaging around 11 years) to highly creditworthy public-sector authorities that are essential to Sweden's public security.

Nordic banks capital measures lack comparability

A significant drawback of regulatory capital measures is the lack of comparability between institutions that employ internal ratings-based (IRB) capital models and those that use less sensitive, but generally more conservative, standardised capital models. Furthermore, the measurement and implementation of risk weighted assets (RWA) may differ between countries due to national discretion as part of current regulations.For this reason, in addition to regulatory capital ratios, NCR considers adjusted capital ratios. For example, we adjust for differences in regulatory capital floors and risk

The Swedish real estate sector remains in a sweet spot

Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) believes the strong operating environment Swedish real estate managers are currently experiencing will continue over the next few years. Strong operational performance, including lower vacancies and increasing rents, in combination with higher property values and lower interest costs, have strengthened the creditworthiness for most real estate managers."We believe that an increasing number of issuers in the real estate sector are moving towards 'investment grade' assessments, meaning 'bbb-' and higher", says Michael Andersson, Chief Rating Officer at NCR.

Nordic banks to issue eur 100bn in senior non preferred debt

Nordic Credit Rating (NCR) estimates that Nordic banks will need to issue nearly €100bn in senior non preferred (SNP) debt instruments through 2022 for all banks in the region to comply with existing and expected national regulations for minimum requirement for eligible liabilities (MREL) in accordance with the EU crisis management directive in the Nordic countries. This would entail a 14-fold increase from existing SNP issuance by Nordic banks, but would represent less than half of outstanding senior unsecured debt, which should allow a smooth transition given stable funding markets.“The

Nordic Credit Rating AS registered as credit rating agency

Today Nordic Credit Rating AS (NCR) was registered as a credit rating agency by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA). This allows NCR to fulfil its mission to provide credit ratings to Nordic corporations and financial institutions.“We are very happy to be registered with ESA and ESMA and that we can now start offering our rating services in the Nordic markets”, says Gustav Liedgren, CEO of NCR and adds “Our ratings will add transparency to the bond markets and that will ultimately benefit all market participants.” Ragnar Sjoner,

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