...- On Oct. 12, 2022, Aktia Bank entered the senior subordinated debt market by issuing a Norwegian krone (NOK) 550 million floating-rate senior non-preferred notes; hence, strengthening its additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) and taking a step toward building a sufficient buffer of bail-in-able debt. - We incorporate one notch of ALAC uplift in our issuer credit rating on Aktia Bank, since we project that the bank will continue building and maintaining an ALAC buffer sustainably above our adjusted 4% threshold. - At the same time, Aktia Bank lowered its earnings guidance for 2022 with reference to the exceptional market conditions that have continued to weigh on the bank's performance in the third quarter. - We project Aktia Bank will continue delivering sound earnings with return on equity (ROE) of 7%-9% for 2022 and gradually strengthening toward 9%-12% over the next two years, balancing our expectation of a steadily strengthening net interest margin with cost pressure and rising...
