BCR’s long-term issuer default ratings were affirmed at ‘BBB+’, while the short-term ratings and the support rating were kept at ‘F2’ and ‘2’, respectively.
The lender’s viability rating was not affected by the announced rating actions, Fitch said.
“Fitch believes that BCR continues to be strategically important to its group despite the weak performance of the Romanian market, in light of Erste’s focus on Central and Eastern European markets, the strong integration into the group and the track record of support to date,” the statement noted.
The outlook revision takes into consideration Fitch’s statement that it is likely to downgrade Erste’s issuer default ratings to the level of its viability rating either by end-2014 or in the first half of next year, when its Support Rating and Support Rating Floor will likely be downgraded to ‘5’ and revised to ‘No Floor’.
At that point, BCR’s ratings will likely be downgraded to ‘BBB’, Fitch said. However, the potential measure is not likely to trigger the downgrade of the bank’s short-term ratings, it added.