OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it raised its counterparty credit ratings on Russia-based Rosbank OJSC to 'B+/B' from 'B/C'. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch where they had been placed with positive implications on June 8, 2006, following the announcement that the French bank Sociйtй Gйnйrale (SocGen; AA-/Positive/A-1+) was acquiring a 10% stake and aiming to increase its holding in Rosbank to 20%.

Additionally, Standard & Poor's raised its Russia national scale rating on the bank to 'ruAA-' from 'ruA-'. The outlook is positive.

"The upgrade reflects SocGen's acquisition of an additional 10% stake in Rosbank in September 2006 (bringing its ownership to 20% less one share), and is driven by SocGen's expected operational and managerial support to be provided to Rosbank," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Eugene Tarzimanov.

The positive outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that SocGen's operational and managerial support will intensify in the medium term, positively affecting Rosbank in such areas as funding, risk management, and IT.