Fitch upgrades BRD ratings

The largest European rating agency, Fitch, upgraded the ratings granted to Banca Romana pentru Dezvoltare (BRD)- Groupe Societe Generale for the short-term debt, from C to B, and for the long-term debt, from B- to B. Fitch has also granted BRD the support rating “3T.”

Fitch confirmed BRD’s ‘LC-2’ short-term rating for the domestic currency, as well as BRD’s ‘IC-C’ issuer rating, reads a press release sent by Fitch to Ziarul Financiar.

According to Fitch rating scale, the support rating assesses whether an institution will be supported by its owners or by authorities in case it faces difficulties. The “3” rating is assigned to a bank whose institutional owners have the necessary reputation and resources to support it if necessary.

“I think that the ratings’ upgrading is only natural, since it is confirmed by the bank’s financial results and by the shares’ evolution,” BRD chairman Bogdan Baltazar told Ziarul Financiar.

BRD H1 net profit rose by 21.7% in real terms as compared to the year-ago period, reaching 814 billion lei (28 million dollars), while the gross operational income exceeded 1,172 billion lei, up 33.3% against the year-ago period. The bank’s shares are among the most traded on Bucharest Stock Exchange.