... Is Bankasi A.S.'s (Isbank) Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is driven by its Viability Rating (VR), reflecting its exposure to the high-risk Turkish operating environment where the bank's operations are concentrated. It also reflects Isbank's solid franchise (11% of sector assets at end-1Q20) and generally reasonable financial metrics. The Negative Outlook reflects heightened pressures from the downturn and market volatility. Coronavirus Fallout: The operating environment has deteriorated as a result of the spread of the coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown measures. Fitch forecasts Turkey's GDP will contract by 3.9% in 2020. However, regulatory forbearance and government support packages will support banks' reported financial metrics in the short term. Credit Deterioration: We expect underlying asset-quality to deteriorate as a result of the pandemic, particularly in SME lending (20% of bank-only loans at...
