OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BB/B' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings to Russia-based Rusfinance Bank. At the same time, the 'ruAA' Russia national scale rating on the bank was affirmed. The outlook is positive.

The ratings on Rusfinance Bank reflect the bank's strategically important status within the Sociйtй Gйnйrale group (SocGen; AA-/Positive/A-1+), which benefits the Russian bank in terms of capital support, financial flexibility, funding, risk management, and managerial and IT support.

The positive outlook reflects our expectation that Rusfinance Bank will be able to create a successful consumer-finance franchise in Russia, and that the ties between the bank and SocGen would remain strong.

In the medium term, the ratings on Rusfinance Bank will be largely driven by the developments in its stand-alone profile, as we already incorporate parental support from SocGen in the ratings.