S&P puts three Belarus banks on watch

S&P said it placed its B long-term issuer credit ratings on Belarus-based financial institutions Belarusbank, Belagroprombank JSC, and Bank BelVEB OJSC on CreditWatch with negative implications.

“Belarusian banks are experiencing rising liquidity pressures because the deposit erosion and increased demand for foreign currency that started in the first half of 2020 has recently intensified. The heightened political uncertainty following the disputed presidential election in August 2020 has contributed to an increase in residents’ demand for foreign currency and intensified the depreciation of the Belarusian ruble against foreign currencies (the Belarusian ruble has depreciated against the U.S. dollar by more than 20% since the end of 2019), exacerbating the risks in the banking system,” S&P said in a press release.

The agency said it plans to resolve the CreditWatch within the next three months when there is more clarity on the evolution of depositors’ behavior, both as regards local and foreign currency, as well as the regulatory and government response to the current crisis.

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