...Access to Funding Restored: Fitch Ratings has affirmed JSC MFO Crystal's Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs), with a Stable Outlook, and removed them from Rating Watch Negative (RWN), after Crystal regained access to funding from international financial institutions (IFIs). New transactions, executed in 2Q21 or planned in 3Q21, amounted to USD29 million (30% of Crystal's total debt). This materially reduced Crystal's refinancing risk. Execution Is Key: Crystal's management aims to improve the company's profitability, amid a long-term decline in loan yields (interest income to average gross loans declined to 25% in 2020 from 34% in 2016). This led to a higher risk tolerance, as Crystal increased its share of smaller, but higher-yielding loans and reduced the liquidity buffer, tapping instead a special credit line from the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), to lower its funding costs. We consider execution on this strategy, including obtaining a banking licence, important for Crystal's creditworthiness....
