December 1 (SeeNews) - Fitch Ratings said it has upgraded Croatia-based Erste & Steiermarkische Bank's (ESB) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to 'A-' from 'BBB+', with a stable outlook.
The upgrade follows Fitch's rating action on Croatia, which resulted in an upgrade of the country ceiling to 'A-' from 'BBB+' last month, the rating agency said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“ESB entered the pandemic with relatively high impaired loans compared with regional peers, though these reflect mostly legacy lending and are robustly covered with loan loss allowances and collateral,” Fitch said, adding that ESB's liquidity is strong and sufficiently covers its upcoming moderate refinancing needs in 2022 and beyond.
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