Fitch affirms Russian banks

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Sberbank SA, Bank VTB JSC and CJSC Bank VTB24's long-term issuer default ratings at BBB with stable outlooks, and upgraded Sberbank's individual rating to C from C/D and VTB and VTB24's individual ratings to C/D from D.

Fitch also affirmed the banks' F3 short-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings, BBB senior long-term debt ratings and F3 senior short-term debt ratings and VTB and VTB24's AAA(rus) national long-term rating and AAA(rus) senior national debt rating.

The banks' issuer default ratings continue to be underpinned by Fitch's view of the high probability of support from the Russian authorities (BBB/positive), if needed, the agency said. This view is based on the banks' high systemic importance, their majority state ownership, the close association between the government and the banks and the track record of providing new capital to the banks during the recent crisis.

The stable outlooks continue to reflect Fitch's expectation that the three banks' long-term issuer default ratings are unlikely to change if the Russian Federation's long-term issuer default ratings are upgraded to BBB+, the agency added.

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