OREANDA-NEWS. December 21, 2011. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services following their revised bank criteria raised the long-term rating on Sviaz-Bank to 'BB' from 'BB-' and the Russia national scale rating to 'ruAA' from 'ruAA-'. The short-term rating was affirmed at 'B'. The outlook is stable.

Standard & Poor's bases its ratings on Sviaz-Bank the "bb" anchor for a commercial bank operating only in Russia. The outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that Sviaz-Bank will continue to develop within its market niche and, at least for the next three to five years, keep its "strategically important" status within Vnesheconombank.

Standard & Poor's also specifies that Sviaz-Bank possesses sufficient potential and if it demonstrates the sustainability of its business position in the short run it could trigger a positive rating action. Significant reduction in business concentrations, particularly in the loan book, would also be a potential positive rating factor, given that there are no negative implications for asset quality and funding stability.