OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it raised its counterparty credit ratings on Russia-based International Moscow Bank (IMB) to 'BBB-/A-3' from 'BB/B'.

At the same time, the counterparty credit ratings on IMB were removed from CreditWatch where they had been placed with positive implications on June 21, 2006. The outlook is stable.

"The upgrade reflects UniCredito's acquisition of the additional 26.4% stake in IMB on Oct. 10, 2006, and UniCredito's expected operational, funding, and capital support to IMB," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Eugene Tarzimanov.

The stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that the ties between IMB and UniCredito will remain strong, and that IMB will benefit from its parent in terms of funding, capital, risk management, and IT.