National Savings Bank – Senior Redeemable Debentures | LKR 6.323 bn

The rating of the National Savings Bank (NSB or the Bank) reflects 100% ownership of the Government of Sri Lanka and the government's explicit guarantee on all of its deposits mandated by the National Savings Bank Act. The Act requires the Bank to invest 60% of its deposits in government securities, which lowers its risk and improves liquidity. Being a government-owned savings bank, NSB has a strong foothold in Sri Lankan household. This has led to significant market share in industry deposits (9.2% of industry deposits) for the Bank. The Bank remains exposed to interest rate risk due to high exposure in government securities, as reflected by variance in the Bank's profitability over the years. The Profit Before Tax (PBT) remained low in 9M23 (LKR 499Mn) while Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at LKR 4.9Bn as the interest expense increased in higher proportion, resulting in lower core spread. The Bank is expected to improve its spread going forward as it re-prices its deposits. The Bank recorded PAT of LKR 2.5Bn and LKR 22.1Bn in CY22 and CY21, respectively. The Bank’s Impaired Loans (Stage 3) Ratio (net of Stage 3 Impairment) was well below the industry average which stood at 3.06% in 9MCY23. Despite a recent decrease in margins, increased provisioning expense and decrease profitability, the capital adequacy of the Bank remained strong with Total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) standing at 16.25% as of 9MCY23, well above the regulatory minimum requirement of 12.5%.
The rating is dependent on continuation of government's guarantee on the deposits of the Bank as per the National Saving Bank Act. Any significant change in the Act or significant deterioration in the Bank's liquidity position amidst the government's inability to support the Bank can impact ratings. The Bank's continuous ability to meet regulatory requirements will remain key. At the same time, minimizing asset liability gap remains important for the rating.

About the Entity
National Savings Bank (NSB or the Bank) was incorporated as a Licensed Specialized Bank in 1972 by the Parliament Act, No.30 of 1971 and was granted the status of Licensed Specialised Bank (LSB) according to the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988. It is regulated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. NSB operates with 262 branches spread across the island and 4,528 staff members. The overall control of the Bank vests in the seven-member Board of Directors as per the National Savings Bank Act, No.30 of 1971 and the present Board consists of four members. The Chairman of the Board is Dr. Harsha Cabral PC since May 2023.

About the Instrument
The rating of the debentures highlights its senior unsecured structure. The seniority of the claims warrants that in case of winding up the instrument ranks above the subordinated debt, ordinary voting and non-voting shareholders, and preference shareholders of the Company but the depositors will have a first right which has a government guarantee. However, there is no such guarantee on debt instrument holders, hence, it is rated one notch below the entity rating.