OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it raised its long-term counterparty credit rating on Russia-based Vneshtorgbank (JSC) (VTB) to 'BBB+' from 'BBB', and its Russia national scale rating to 'ruAAA' from 'ruAA+'. At the same time, the 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit rating was affirmed.

Furthermore, Standard & Poor's raised its long-term counterparty credit ratings on VTB'S core subsidiary, Vneshtorgbank Retail Financial Services (VTB24) to 'BBB+' from 'BBB', and its Russia national scale rating to 'ruAAA' from 'ruAA+'. At the same time, the 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit rating was affirmed. The outlook on both entities is stable.

The rating action on VTB is driven by improvements in its stand-alone performance, good growth prospects in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and strong ties with its principal owner -the Russian Federation.

The rating action on VTB24 is driven by the upgrade on VTB.