The ratings on Romania are constrained by low prosperity and the economy's vulnerability to external shocks owing to still-high, albeit declining, external debt and dominant ownership of the banking sector by Austrian and Greek parent banks. The ratings are supported by the country's improving fundamentals; the fiscal deficit is declining, the current account deficit has narrowed, and the economy has started to rebalance, with the support of an IMF program. Foreign institutions own 83% of total banking sector assets. Austrian banks dominate, holding 39% of total market share, while Greek banks' subsidiaries account for 13% of banking sector assets. We believe operational autonomy might limit spill-over effects if confidence in the Greek banking sector continues to weaken. In our view,
