TALLINN, Jan 13 (LETA--BNS) -The international ratings agency Moody's has assignedLuminor a provisional Aa1 rating for mortgage covered bonds, which is currently the highest credit rating in the Baltic states.

"This is an important step in getting ready to issue covered bonds under the license that Luminor received in December, as the first bank in the region,"Luminor CFO Jonas Eriksson said.

"I am very pleased that we have everything in place to start utilizing the program. It is important for Luminor, as it further broadens our financing as an independent bank, and it is a great step forward in developing the Baltic capital markets," Eriksson added.

Moody's Investors Serviceassigned on Monday a provisional (P)Aa1 long-term rating to the mortgage covered bonds issued by Luminor Bank AS, which are governed by the Estonian Covered Bond Act.

Moody's credit analysis considered, among other, the strong credit quality of the assets backing the covered bonds, the Estonian legal framework providing for the issuer's regulation and supervision, as well as the cover pool exposure to market risk and level of over-collateralization.

On Dec. 19, 2019, the European Central Bank issued a licence to Luminor to issue covered bonds following the assessment of the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. The legislation enabling the issuance of covered bonds under the Estonian Covered Bonds Act entered into force in Estonia in March 2019.

Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltics, with approximately one million clients, 2,500 employees, and market shares of 16.8percent in deposits and 19.5percent in lending as of the end of the third quarter of 2019.

Total shareholders' equity amounts to 1.6 billion euros, and Luminor is capitalized with a CET1 ratio of 18.7percent.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan