Fitch Launches Ukrainian Rating Scale.

Driven by the rapid development of the corporate and municipal bond market, Fitch joined the other major rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s) by introducing a national rating scale for Ukraine.  The National rating of ‘AA+(ukr)’ with a Stable Outlook assigned to Ukraine has been set as the benchmark to evaluate the credit quality of other local issuers. Ukraine is the 30th country to receive this type of rating scale. Oleksander Klymchuk: National ratings indicate the relative creditworthiness of issuers and issues within one country and thus provide better credit differentiation than a Global rating scale. This new scale will increase competition among rating agencies in Ukraine. Although the scale will increase Fitch presence in Ukraine, its Moscow-based analytical team will face fierce competition not only from other global leaders but also from Ukraine’s Credit-Rating RA service which has more experience in Ukraine.