Belagroprombank Upgraded To 'B' On Steady Economic Fundamentals; Two Other Banks Affirmed At 'B'; Outlooks Stable

OVERVIEW We forecast that Belarus' economic growth will likely average about 2% annually over 2018-2021, easing the pressure on Belarusian banks, spurring loan growth, and lowering provisioning needs. We therefore consider that country risk has reduced and have revised our anchor for rating Belarusian banks to 'b' from 'b-'. As a result, we are raising our long-term ratings on Belagroprombank to 'B' from 'B-' and affirming our 'B' short-term ratings. At the same time, we are affirming our 'B/B' ratings on Belarusbank and Bank BelVEb. Our stable outlooks on the three banks reflect that on Belarus. MOSCOW (S&P Global Ratings) April 13, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that it has raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Belarus-based Belagroprombank JSC

...OVERVIEW + We forecast that Belarus' economic growth will likely average about 2% annually over 2018-2021, easing the pressure on Belarusian banks, spurring loan growth, and lowering provisioning needs. + We therefore consider that country risk has reduced and have revised our anchor for rating Belarusian banks to 'b' from 'b-'. + As a result, we are raising our long-term ratings on Belagroprombank to 'B' from 'B-' and affirming our 'B' short-term ratings. + At the same time, we are affirming our 'B/B' ratings on Belarusbank and Bank BelVEb. + Our stable outlooks on the three banks reflect that on Belarus. MOSCOW (S&P Global Ratings) April 13, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that it has raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Belarus-based Belagroprombank JSC to 'B' from 'B-' and affirmed the 'B' short-term issuer credit rating. At the same time, we affirmed our 'B/B' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on JSC Savings Bank Belarusbank and Bank BelVEB OJSC....

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