S&P Global Ratings on March 6 raised Russia-based JSC VTB Bank's
The agency upgraded U.K. unit VTB Capital Plc's long- and short-term issuer credit ratings to BBB-/A-3 from BB+/B and Russia-based VTB Insurance Ltd.'s issuer credit rating and financial strength rating to BBB- from BB+, with stable outlooks.
Meanwhile, VTB Bank (Kazakhstan)'s
The rating actions reflect the improvement in Russia's credit quality and S&P's view that VTB Bank, a government-owned entity, has a very high likelihood of receiving extraordinary state support if necessary.
The agency said it continues to assess VTB Bank's stand-alone credit profile at "bb-," citing certain pressures on the lender's credit profile, particularly the fairly high concentrations on its balance sheet and its appetite for large equity investments, such as its acquisition of a 29.1% stake in Russian retailer PJSC Magnit
The ratings on VTB Capital and VTB Insurance are aligned with their parent, as S&P considers them as core subsidiaries of the group. VTB Bank (Kazakhstan), meanwhile, is rated one notch below VTB Bank as it is considered a highly strategic subsidiary.
As of March 6, US$1 was equivalent to 56.73 Russian rubles.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings documents referred to in this news brief can be found here.
