...Support Drives IDRs : Turk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S.'s (TEB) ratings are driven by support from its ultimate controlling shareholder, BNP Paribas S.A. (BNPP; A+/Stable), reflecting its strategic importance to and integration w ith its parent, as w ell as TEB's small size relative to BNPP. IDR Below That of Sovereign: The bank's Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) are one notch below the sovereign's. This reflects our view that, in case of a marked deterioration in Turkey's external finances, the risk of government intervention in the banking sector w ould be higher than that of a sovereign default. The Negative Outlook on the IDRs reflects that on the sovereign. Operating Environm ent Pressure : TEB's standalone strength reflects its exposure to the high-risk Turkish operating environment, w here its operations are concentrated, given significant Turkish lira volatility, high lira interest rates and the w eaker grow th outlook ¡ w e forecast GDP to fall by 1.1% over 2019. How ever, it also considers...
