S&P Global Ratings has raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Uzbekistan's Davr-Bank to 'B+' from 'B' and affirmed its 'B' short-term rating on the bank. The outlook is stable.

"We raised our ratings on Davr-Bank because we consider it a moderately strategic subsidiary of ABB [International Bank of Azerbaijan]. Davr-Bank accounts for 10%-12% of the ABB group’s total assets. As we understand, the deal fits ABB’s long-term strategy, which envisages international expansion and positioning itself as a regional player. Davr-Bank will be renamed ABB Davr-Bank. However, the level of operational integration between the two entities is yet to be determined, limiting our assessment. We believe ABB Group has higher creditworthiness than Davr-Bank stand-alone and therefore incorporate a notch of uplift into our rating on Davr-Bank," S&P Global said.

"We expect Davr-Bank to maintain its focus on retail and small and midsize enterprise (SME) lending over the next 12 months. While we anticipate the bank to develop its new growth strategy before the end of 2026, we expect these segments to remain its core pillars and to continue to fuel growth. We also anticipate Davr-Bank to capitalize on new opportunities from being a part of ABB group, specifically through the servicing of Azerbaijani and Turkish corporates in Uzbekistan and the integration of ABB’s international money transfer services. We project loan book growth of 20%-25% in 2026, then accelerating to 30%-35% in 2027 and 2028. We forecast the bank's net interest margin to remain robust at 10.0%-10.3%, bolstered by high interest rates and an expanded footprint in higher-margin segments, the statement said.

"We expect Davr-Bank will maintain adequate capital buffers. Under our base-case scenario, we do not anticipate any capital injections from shareholders over 2026-2028. We expect our risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio will remain at 10.0%-10.7% over the next 12-18 months, supported by solid earnings and 100% net income retention. Still, the integration with the parent could result in changes in loan reclassification and higher provisioning needs," according to the statement.

Furthermore, changes in ownership could lead to an adjustment to strategic plans, which might entail execution risks as well as shifts in dividend policy. This, in turn, could affect capital buildup and bring the RAC ratio to below 10% over the next two-to-three years. This constrains our assessment of Davr-Bank’s capital position at adequate, although we expect capitalization will remain a rating strength.

The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Davr-Bank will maintain its focus on retail and SME lending over the next 12 months while benefiting from the business connection with ABB, supported by solid capital buffers and adequate asset quality. The outlook also reflects our expectation that the bank's liquidity position will remain adequate and it will maintain access to funding from international financial institutions.

"We think a negative rating action in the next 12 months is unlikely barring a material deterioration in the bank’s asset quality or higher losses and capital depletion resulting from post-acquisition execution risk. We consider an upgrade over the next 6-12 months also unlikely due to the upcoming year's transformational shifts. However, we could consider a positive rating action if the bank's profitability metrics remain solid and it increases its market share and earnings stability, as seen with higher contributions from fee and commission income. We could also raise the rating if Davr-Bank demonstrates a commitment to maintaining strong capitalization, with the RAC ratio remaining sustainably above 10%. Beyond the outlook horizon, we could upgrade the bank if we considered that its strategic importance to the group had increased; this could be seen, for example, with increased equity ownership by ABB, the provision of capital or liquidity support, or dedicated funding," the statement says.

On August 23, 2026, in Tashkent, the International Bank of Azerbaijan (ABB) signed an agreement to acquire a controlling 51% stake in Davr Bank.

As ABB Chairman of the Management Board Abbas Ibrahimov previously reported, the Azerbaijani bank’s investment in the acquisition of shares in the Uzbek bank will exceed $100 million.

Davr Bank has been operating in Uzbekistan since September 2001.