LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Fitch on Thursday cut Ukraine's
credit ratings to B from B+, warning of increased risks of a
banking and currency crisis in the country unless it carries out
measures agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
On Tuesday, Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania were put on
notice for possible ratings downgrades from ratings agency
Moody's, which cited deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.
Many economies in emerging Europe have already been hit by
credit ratings downgrades, including Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania
and Turkey.
Here is a list of long-term foreign currency ratings and
outlooks for countries in emerging Europe, until recently seen
as one of the safest regions across emerging markets but now
exposed to credit worries, recession in the euro zone and
increased banking problems.
COUNTRY S&P MOODY's FITCH
BULGARIA BBB Baa3 BBB-
Negative Stable Stable
Fitch cut Bulgaria's foreign currency rating on November 10
to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level, saying its marked
decline in external financing flows has heightened its recession
risks.
CROATIA BBB Baa3 BBB-
Negative Stable Stable
Fitch said on Dec. 8 that Croatia's current account deficit
and high external debt were sources of concern although the
country remains relatively sheltered from the impact of the
global financial crisis.
CZECH REPUBLIC A A1 A+
Stable Stable Stable
Moody's on Dec. 8 revised its outlook for the Czech Republic
to stable from positive, noting that the country was unlikely to
have a ratings upgrade in the next 12 to 18 months because it
was facing slowing economic growth.
ESTONIA A A1 A-
Negative Negative Negative
Moody's on Feb. 10 said it had placed Estonia's A1 foreign
and local currency bond ratings on review for a possible
downgrade as the global economic downturn was likely to damage
the country's long-term growth prospects and financial strength.
HUNGARY BBB A3 BBB
Negative Negative Stable
S&P cut Hungary's sovereign ratings to "BBB/A-3" on Nov. 17,
warning that the country was especially vulnerable to a global
economic slowdown because of its external financing dependency.
ICELAND BBB- Baa1 BBB-
Negative Negative Negative
Moody's on Dec. 4 cut Iceland's rating by one notch with a
negative outlook, saying the island's banking crisis and
currency collapse had significantly damaged the government's
financial strength.
KAZAKHSTAN BBB- Baa2 BBB-
Negative Stable Negative
Fitch on Feb. 2 warned that Kazakhstan's rating could be hit
if its banking sector troubles worsened. S&P has also warned
that Kazakhstan could face a sovereign rating downgrade if the
cost of a financial sector bailout rises further.
LATVIA BBB- Baa1 BBB-
Negative Negative Negative
Ratings agency Moody's cut Latvia's rating to Baa1 on Jan 7
and kept its outlook on negative, saying the country still faced
risks despite a 7.5 billion euro IMF-led and EU bailout.
LITHUANIA BBB+ A2 BBB+
Negative Negative Negative
Moody's on Feb. 10 put Lithuania's A2 rating on review for a
possible downgrade, saying economic growth in the Baltic state
could remain weak for longer than expected.
MONTENEGRO BB+ Ba2 --
Negative Negative --
Moody's on Dec. 18 lowered its outlook on Montenegro to
negative from stable, citing the reduced liquidity of its
banking system due to the global financial crisis, falling
aluminium prices and shrinking foreign direct investment.
POLAND A- A2 A-
Stable Stable Stable
Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on Poland to stable from
positive on Oct 27, citing the deterioration in the
international markets and tightening credit conditions.
ROMANIA BB+ Baa3 BB+
Negative Stable Negative
Romania is the only European Union member with a
non-investment grade rating. On Nov. 10 Fitch followed Standard
and Poor's in cutting it to "junk" and gave the country a
negative outlook, citing the risk of a severe financial and
economic crisis.
RUSSIA BBB Baa1 BBB
Negative Stable Negative
Fitch on Feb. 04 downgraded Russia to BBB and said further
cuts were possible due to low commodity prices, high capital
outflows, melting reserves and mounting corporate debt problems
-- leaving Russia two notches away from being "junk" grade.
SERBIA BB- -- BB-
Negative -- Negative
Fitch on Dec. 23 revised its outlook for Serbia to negative
from stable, saying the country faced heightened credit risks
due to its high external debt as a result of the financial
crisis. In July, S&P said the arrest of war crimes suspect
Radovan Karadzic augured well for Serbia's path to EU accession
but retained its negative outlook on the country citing economic
overheating risks.
TURKEY BB- Ba3 BB-
Negative Stable Stable
Fitch on Jan. 14 affirmed Turkey's BB- long-term foreign
currency ratings, saying the country has proved resilient to the
global credit crunch. S&P on Nov. 13 revised its outlook on
Turkey to negative from stable but affirmed the country's BB-/B
foreign currency rating. Moody's said on Dec. 2 that Turkey
would retain its Ba3 rating although the momentum was for the
rating to move up in the longer term.
UKRAINE B B1 B
Negative Stable Negative
Fitch on Feb. 12 cut Ukraine's long-term foreign and local
currency ratings to B from B+ and said the outlook was negative
because the country's failure to implement an agreement with the
International Monetary Fund was raising the risks of a banking
and currency crisis.
(Compiled by Carolyn Cohn and Sebastian Tong; Editing by Ruth
Pitchford)
