OREANDA-NEWS. On November 11, 2008 Fitch Ratings affirmed ‘BPS-Bank’s‘ (BPS) Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ (B minus), reported the press-centre of BPS-Bank.

The rating action reflects Fitch’s opinion that the impact of international financial market turmoil and a likely global recession on Belarus’s public finances, economy and banking sector is at present likely to be within the tolerance level of the ‘B-‘ (B minus) ratings currently set up to the country’s state-owned banks. Fitch notes that external events have as yet had a limited negative influence on BPS’s performance and financial position.

BPS’s performance has strengthened since 2006, supported by improving cost-efficiency, strong fee generation and a reduced tax burden. In H108, BPS’s operating ROAA (3.4%) and ROAE (42.3%) were the highest among the country’s state-owned banks. BPS’s creditworthiness is also supported by its moderate reliance on foreign funding and limited refinancing risk.