OREANDA-NEWS. October 12, 2010. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed TransCreditBank’s 'BB/B' long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings and 'ruAA' Russia national scale rating. The outlook is stable.

The rating action was taken following the announcement of the Supervisory Board of VTB Bank, which approved the phased acquisition of 100% of TransCreditBank on October 4, 2010. VTB Bank plans to acquire a majority stake by the end of the year from Russian Railways, which currently owns a 54.4% stake, as well as minority shareholders.

"The affirmation reflects our view that the expected change in TransCreditBank's shareholding structure will have no material impact on its stand-alone credit profile, as well as our assessment of the probability of exceptional shareholder support if necessary," said S&P credit analyst Victor Nikolskiy in the agency’s press release.