On having revised criteria used in determining relation between long-term and short-term ratings assigned to issuers from various countries of the world, international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has placed on watch credit ratings that may be affected by methodology changes. The relevant identifier (UCO, under criteria observation) has been introduced.
Owing to the revision of the criteria, the agency has placed on watch short-term credit ratings assigned to 55 issuers, and also the ratings assigned to the programs of commercial securities or other issues of short-term bonds of these issuers.
The list includes 13 Russian issuers, namely seven banks (Bank Uralsib and under-takeover Bank BFA, Renaissance Credit, Razvitie-Stolitsa, International Bank of Saint Petersburg, National Factoring Company, Urals Bank for Reconstruction and Development), two leasing firms (Element Leasing and KMB-Leasing), and also concern Rossium, brokerage Region, Region Investment Company, and Renaissance Financial Holdings Ltd. It follows from S&P's press release that all these institutions hold short-term counterparty credit ratings at C.
Any rating actions caused by the revision of criteria will be published in accordance with the regulator's requirements. The identifier (UCO) will be used before completion of analysis in accordance with the revised criteria. As the agency anticipates, it will take no more than six months to analyze the ratings which were marked by UCO.