YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services yesterday revised the outlook to negative on 18 Russian banks and to stable on one other and affirmed the counterparty credit ratings on these banks. In addition, the ratings on 13 banks has been affirmed; their outlooks remain unchanged, S&P reports.

‘These actions follow the completion of our review of 32 rated Russian banks and our view that the economic and industry risk trend affecting Russian banks is now negative’, says the report. The review also followed a series of negative rating actions on state-owned banks, systematically important private banks, and subsidiaries of foreign groups, published immediately after the downgrade of Russia in late April, according to the report.

‘We believe weaker-than-previously expected economic growth over the next few years will likely have a negative impact on Russian banks' lending growth, asset quality, and profitability. We also consider that geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and weakening confidence of international and domestic investors toward Russia will put increasing pressure on the funding profiles of Russian banks’, says the agency. –0--