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Agusto and Co. upgraded PremiumTrust Bank to A- long-term and A1 short-term with a stable outlook, citing capital, liquidity, and profitability.
Agusto and Co. has upgraded PremiumTrust Bank’s credit ratings to A- for the long term and A1 for the short term. The outlook is stable.
Nigeria-based rating agency Agusto and Co. upgraded PremiumTrust Bank to “A-” (long-term) and “A1” (short-term) on August 26, 2026.
A credit rating is a score that signals how likely an institution is to meet its financial obligations, like paying back deposits and other liabilities. Long-term ratings focus on multi-year risk, while short-term ratings focus on near-term obligations.
Agusto said the upgrade was driven by good capitalisation, good liquidity, and strong profitability. It also cited good asset quality, but noted the track record is limited, so the loan performance is still “untested” in a longer credit cycle.
The agency added that the rating is constrained by concentration in the bank’s loan book and deposit base. In plain terms, it means the bank relies on a smaller set of borrowers and depositors than larger peers, which can raise risk if a few relationships change.
Agusto attached an ESG score of “3” to the rating. ESG refers to environmental, social, and governance risks (how a company is run and how it behaves). The agency said governance was the main driver of ESG risk, pointing to board independence gaps, a regulatory penalty linked to AML, CFT, and CPF breaches (controls used to prevent money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing), and weaker gender diversity compared to Central Bank of Nigeria guidance.
The ratings expire on June 30, 2027.
For a young bank with low market share, a stronger rating can help with credibility when raising wholesale funding, negotiating partnerships, or competing for larger corporate deposits.
Still, the governance flags and concentration risks are reminders that ratings can move both ways. For operators and fintech partners that integrate with banks, these details matter because they affect counterparty risk, which is the risk that a partner fails to meet obligations.
Primary Source: Nigeria’s First Credit Rating Company
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