Fitch cuts Cyprus rating to 'B-' on uncertain outlook

International ratings agency Fitch on Monday downgraded Cyprus by one notch to "B-" with a negative outlook, citing uncertainties linked to the nation's bailout programme and the restructuring of its banking industry. Fitch said it had cut the rating as "Cyprus has no flexibility to deal with domestic or external shocks and there is a high risk of the programme going off track, with financing buffers potentially insufficient to absorb material fiscal and economic slippage." Cyprus negotiated in March a 10-billion-euro ($13-billion) bailout from the EU and IMF, which in a controversial first forced large bank depositors to accept huge losses.