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Tuesday,
July 24,
2007, #139 (1406)
International rating agency Fitch Ratings announced last week it upgraded its ratings for four Georgian banks—TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia, ProCredit Bank Georgia and VTB Bank (Georgia). “In the cases of Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank, the upgrades reflect the greater probability of support from the Georgian state,” a Fitch press release explains. The agency thinks the Georgian authorities would, if necessary, bailout Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank thanks to their importance in the national banking sector. The long-term rating for TBC Bank has been upgraded from “B-” to “B+”. TBC Bank vice president Giga Bedineishvili thinks that the upgrade in the bank’s rating will play an important role for the bank as it tries to attract more financial resources. “Our bank has been successfully cooperating with the world’s largest financial institutions, which in first and foremost pay attention to the rating. The high international rating of TBC Bank is very important and stipulates trust from those institutions as well as our successful cooperation,” he said. The rating of Bank of Georgia was also upgraded, from “B” to “B+”. The ratings upgrades for ProCredit Bank and VTB (Georgia), the agency said, imply a greater probability that in case of need the banks would receive financial support from their majority shareholders. General Manager of ProCredit Bank Philipp Pott says the upgrades are of great importance, not only for his bank, but for the country as well. “The fact that ProCredit Bank’s new rating is the same as the country rating reflects our stability and the strong support from our international shareholders, especially ProCredit Holding, the main shareholder of the ProCredit Group worldwide,” he said. |
Fitch Upgrades Ratings for Four Georgian Banks
