...- Joint Stock Company Octobank (Octobank) is a bank in Uzbekistan with a very small market share. - In our view, implementation of its recently developed ambitious growth strategy is a challenging task, given the bank's limited franchise and footprint and the pressures from a highly competitive market environment. - We believe Octobank will likely maintain a strong capital position in the next 12 months, supported by capital injections in 2024 from its main shareholder. At the same time, the more ambitious the management is in growing its lending book, the sooner the bank will require a new capital injection, given the bank's internal capital generation is not currently commensurate with its growth plans. - We assigned our 'B-/B' ratings to Octobank. - The stable outlook reflects our view that the bank will likely be able to meet its financial obligations despite the uncertainties related to implementation of its recently developed growth strategy, supported by its currently solid capital...
