Decision by Fitch to leave Russia’s rating unchanged well expected, positive

International rating agency Fitch’s decision to confirm Russia’s rating at the investment level BBB-had been well expected, the director of the government debt and public financial assets department at the Ministry of Finance, Konstantin Vyshkovsky, has told TASS, adding it was a positive move.

"Everything is good. Just as we had anticipated," he said on Friday.

Fitch on Friday confirmed Russia’s investment rating at BBB-, outlook negative. Experts polled by TASS shortly before that said they expected precisely that decision by Fitch, the sole of the world’s largest agencies that still kept Russia’s rating at the investment level.

Originally, Fitch had the intention of revising Russia’s sovereign rating on April 17, but after a meeting with Finance Minister Anton Siluanov the agency’s experts refrained from instant decisions and took a pause for in-depth analysis of the situation in the Russian economy and finance. Siluanov then said the Russian Finance Ministry had not expected Fitch would reconsider the rating.

The two other agencies: Standard&Poor’s and Moody’s cut Russia’s rating to BB+ and Ba1 respectively.