Standard&Poor's has lowered its ratings and Transfer and Convertibility assessment on the Republic of Belarus. We see sovereign risk as a key factor influencing the financial strength of Belarusian banks Belagroprombank and BPS-Bank because of the dominance of state-owned companies and the government in their financing and funding operations. We are therefore lowering our long-term ratings on Belagroprombank and BPS-Bank to 'B' from 'B+' and affirming the short-term ratings at 'B' The negative outlook on the banks mirrors that on Belarus and reflects the country's low external liquidity, owing to a very high current account deficit, which in turn represent risks for the predominantly state-controlled Belarusian banking sector and economy. On March 16, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings
