International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings upgraded on Monday the long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings of major Turkish banks, including Ziraat Bank, VakifBank and the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye (TSKB), citing an upward revision of the operating environment.
Fitch said in a statement that it raised the long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings of Ziraat Bank, VakifBank and TSKB from "B+" to "BB-." The agency also noted that the viability ratings of these banks were upgraded from "b+" to "bb-."
The statement noted that the outlooks of these banks were set at "stable."
It also said that Arap Turk Bank's (ATB) long-term issuer default rating was upgraded from "B" to "B+," its viability rating from "b" to "b+", and its national long-term rating from A-(tur) to A(tur), with a stable outlook.
"The upgrades reflect Fitch's improved assessment of the Turkish operating environment, as shown by the recent revision of the operating environment score for Turkish banks to 'bb-'/stable from 'b '/positive," the ratings agency said.
"The upgrades also consider the banks' stable business and financial profiles maintained in the context of improved operating conditions," it added.
It also noted that the government support ratings (GSR) of state lenders Ziraat Bank, VakifBank and privately-owned development bank TSKB were upgraded from "b+" to "bb-," reflecting Turkish authorities' assessment that the ability to support the banking sector in foreign currency has increased following the improvement in foreign exchange reserves.
Meanwhile, Fitch also announced in a separate statement that the long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings of Halkbank, Emlak Participation Bank and Vakif Participation Bank were upgraded from "B+" to "BB-."
It said the outlook for these ratings was "stable" and that the government support ratings of these banks were also upgraded from "b+" to "bb-."
The GSRs of three privately owned systemically important banks, Işbank, Akbank, and Yapı Kredi, have also been upgraded to "b" from "b-."
