Bank of Russia Takes Steps to Protect Banks Amid Rating Threat
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Russia’s central bank will use credit ratings of lenders pre-dating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Crimea, potentially easing pressure on their capital requirements as the sovereign risks a downgrade to junk.
The Bank of Russia will rely on credit scores of banks and their securities prior to March 1, 2014 for the purposes of regulation, according to a statement on its website that didn’t give details. The move comes three days after Moody’s Investors Service cut Russia’s credit rating to the lowest investment grade, on par with Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.