OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Foreign-Currency Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ING Bank Slaski to 'A' from 'A-', and affirmed its Support Rating at '1'. The Outlook on the IDR is Stable. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this Rating Action Commentary.

The upgrade of Bank Slaski's IDR reflects the upgrade of its parent, ING Bank N.V. (A+/Stable/a+) on 14 April (see "Fitch Upgrades ING Bank and ING Group to 'A+'; Outlook Stable" at www.fitchratings.com).

KEY RATING DRIVERS
IDRs and Support Rating
The IDRs and Support Rating of Bank Slaski reflect Fitch's view that there is an extremely high probability that the bank would be supported, if required, by its 75% shareholder, ING Bank. Fitch believes Bank Slaski is a strategically important subsidiary, even though ING Bank's presence elsewhere in central and eastern Europe is limited. Fitch expects continued parental support to provide a floor for Bank Slaski's Long-term IDR at one notch below that of ING Bank.

Fitch's view of ING Bank's strong support propensity is based on Bank Slaski's strong franchise and relatively large size compared with other ING subsidiaries in the region and the classification of Poland by ING as a growth market with promising performance prospects. It also reflects the close match of Bank Slaski's business model with that of ING Bank (direct retail focused on innovation and mobile banking channels) and considerable operational integration, including expertise, technical support, financial consulting and data-processing services provided by the parent. Fitch also believes ING Bank would risk reputational damage if it did not support its subsidiary.

ING Bank's ability to support is strongly reflected by its 'A+' rating and the manageable cost of potential support in light of Bank Slaski's small relative size (around 3% of the parent bank's consolidated assets at end-2015).

RATING SENSITIVITIES
IDRs and Support Rating
Bank Slaski's Long-term IDR is sensitive to changes in ING Bank's propensity and/or ability to support its Polish subsidiary. Fitch considers it unlikely that either of these factors will change in the near term. As a result, the Stable Outlook on Bank Slaski's Long-term IDR mirrors that on ING Bank.

The rating actions are as follows:

ING Bank Slaski
Long-term IDR: upgraded to 'A' from 'A-'; Outlook Stable
Short-Term IDR affirmed at 'F1'
Support Rating: affirmed at 1
Viability Rating: 'bbb+', unaffected