September 20 (SeeNews) - S&P Global Ratings announced on Wednesday that it has upgraded the outlook on Croatia's state-owned development bank HBOR from stable to positive, reflecting similar sovereign action.
The credit rating agency on Friday revised its outlook on Croatia to positive due to its macroeconomic and fiscal resilience.
"We equalise our long-term rating on the Croatian development bank, Hrvatska Banka za Obnovu i Razvitak (HBOR), with that on Croatia because we believe that the bank benefits from an almost certain likelihood of extraordinary government support in the event of financial distress," the credit rating agency said in a press release.
At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'BBB+/A-2' long- and short-term foreign and local currency issuer credit ratings on HBOR.
"We would lower the rating on HBOR if we lower our sovereign rating on Croatia. Aside from any sovereign rating action, we could lower the rating on the bank over the next 24 months if we revise our view of the likelihood of sufficient and timely extraordinary support from the state, for example, if we came to believe that the bank's role for, or link to, the Croatian government has weakened," S&P explained.
S&P said it would raise the rating on HBOR if the agency's view on the sovereign's creditworthiness improves, all else remaining equal.