S&P sees Russia’s rating unhurt by new US sanctions

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (PRIME) -- The probability of the U.S. introducing new sanctions against Moscow is moderate, and the sanctions will most likely be selective, which would allow Russia to absorb shocks without any impact on its ratings, Karen Vartapetov, director of sovereign ratings at international rating agency S&P, said on Tuesday in a conference.

“The probability is high for introduction of the round of sanctions connected to the law on non-proliferation of chemical weapons. But if you look into the bill itself, it does not formally mean any serious restrictions, they are all mainly connected to trade restrictions and restriction of contacts…at a diplomatic level as well. As regards to macroeconomics, it doesn’t look so bad,” Vartapetov said.

The sanctions may limit purchases of Russia’s new sovereign debt and restrictions on Russian banks, which may have a serious impact on the country’s macro economy, but the probability of these sanctions is relatively moderate. The baseline S&P scenario assumes that the current investment background and sanction regime will be maintained.

“We think that possible new sanctions will be rather selective and cover certain individuals and companies, non-systemically important banks. Russia will be able to absorb shocks from these sanctions without a negative impact on its rating,” he said.

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