S&P improves outlook on 6 Ukrainian municipals to positive

Following its revision on Ukraine’s sovereign rating outlook to positive late last week, Standard & Poor’s took corresponding action to lift the outlooks on six Ukrainian municipals to positive. The agency changed the outlook on Crimea, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, and Ivano-Frankivsk – which have zero or modest debt and debt service in 2009-2010 – to positive. It also adjusted the outlook on Odesa and Lviv, which have more aggressive debt policies, to developing. S&P kept its negative outlook on the city of Kyiv, which it said reflects its risky debt structure, poor liquidity and weakening budgetary performance.