OREANDA-NEWS. July 08, 2010. Fitch has upgraded Ukraine's sovereign Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings to B from B-, the agency reported July 6. The upgrade of Ukraine's sovereign ratings follows the agreement on a new USD 14.9bn IMF loan stand-by programme that proves to be positive for the country's creditworthiness. Following the sovereign rating improvement, Fitch has made an equivalent rating upgrade of eight Ukrainian banks, namely UkrSibbank, Ukrsotsbank, Forum, ProCredit Ukraine, Pravex and VTB Ukraine, Oschadbank and Ukreximbank.

Millennium Capital: this news is positive for sovereign and the banks. The rating upgrade confirms the recent decline in yields of Ukrainian Eurobonds on the back of an improving economic situation in the country. Despite the rating upgrade, we do not see a potential for further major reduction in yields. In the nearest future, we expect the agency to elevate the ratings of major Ukrainian corporate issuers including Azovstal, MHP, Kyivstar, Naftogaz, Metinvest.