Russia, Belarus Governments Support Creation Of Joint Credit Rating Agency

The Standing Committee of the Russia-Belarus Union State has supported a proposal to create a credit rating agency, the committee has said. The move is necessary, as Western credit ratings agencies, including Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P, pulled out of these markets in 2022, making it extremely difficult for banks and companies in Russia and Belarus to obtain any ratings or data on the creditworthiness of their own institutions and corporations, making the raising of global capital nearly impossible.

The Standing Committee stated that “A decision was made to work out the issue of forming this international financial and analytical institution of the Union State, which assigns sovereign credit ratings, with the relevant agencies. Having our own platform for an unbiased assessment of financial stability will facilitate the expansion of mutual trade lending and increase investment between friendly states, reduce dependence on politically motivated assessments, and support the development of the common financial market of the Union State.”

Belarus has 12 publicly listed companies, with most involved in the agricultural sector. Belarus is also home to the Universal Commodities Exchange, an important trading house and the largest of its kind in Eastern Europe. This is to be developed as a larger Eurasian Commodities Exchange by 2029. This will spur the development of Belarusian and other regional businesses, which will require access to development finance. A reliable credit agency will be able to assist in raising capital from Eurasian bankers.

It is a similar, albeit larger, situation in Russia, which has 222 listed corporations. Russia is also discussing the establishment of joint credit ratings agencies with China.