On setting long-term credit rating for investing pension savings

The Bank of Russia Board of Directors set the following long-term credit ratings for investing pension savings:

To apply Paragraph 3 of Clause 1.4.1 of Bank of Russia Regulation No. 451-P, dated 25 December 2014, ‘On Additional Restrictions on Investing Pension Savings Placed with a Non-Governmental Pension Fund Implementing Obligatory Pension Insurance, Additional Requirements to Credit Institutions with Which Servicemen Pension and Housing Savings are Placed, and Additional Requirements Management Companies Must Comply with During the Term of Pension Savings Trust Management Agreement’, registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 23 January 2015 under No. 35661 (hereinafter, the Regulation), long-term credit rating of an issue of subordinated bonds in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by two notches. If subordinated bond rating is unavailable, long-term credit rating of subordinated bond issuer in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by two notches;

To apply Paragraph 4 of Clause 1.4.1 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of an issue (or an issuer, if the issue rating is unavailable) of securities other than subordinated bonds in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by three notches or no lower than A++ on the national scale in the classification of Expert RA rating agency;

To apply Paragraph 6 of Clause 1.4.1 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of a legal entity, whose guarantee ensures the fulfillment of all obligations on bonds, in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by three notches or no lower than A++ on the national scale in the classification of Expert RA rating agency;

To apply Clause 1.4.7 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of an issue (or an issuer, if the issue rating is unavailable) of bonds other than subordinated bonds of credit institutions and bonds of the Russian Federation a placement and (or) a public trading of issue of which began later than the date when the Regulation became effective, or long-term credit rating of a legal entity, whose guarantee ensures the fulfillment of obligations on a bond, in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by three notches or no lower than A++ on the national scale in the classification of Expert RA rating agency;

To apply Clause 1.4.8 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of credit institutions eligible for placement of subordinated deposits should be no lower than BBB+ in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s or no lower than Baa1 in the classification of Moody’s Investors Service;

To apply Clause 1.6 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of an issuer of securities indicated in Paragraphs 2, 7 and 8 of Clause 1 of Article 36¹⁵ of Federal Law No. 75-FZ, dated 7 May 1998 ‘On Non-Governmental Pension Funds’, in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency or no lower than A++ on the national scale in the classification of Expert RA rating agency.

If pension or housing savings of servicemen are placed on bank accounts with a credit institution, to apply Clause 2.1.3 of the Regulation with regards to such bank accounts, long-term credit rating of the credit institution in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by three notches before 1 May 2015.

If a deposit comprising pension or housing savings of servicemen is placed with a credit institution before the date the Regulation became effective, to apply Clause 2.1.3 of the Regulation with regards to such deposit, long-term credit rating of the credit institution in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by three notches.

To apply Clause 2.1.3 of the Regulation, long-term credit rating of a credit institution in the classification of rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investors Service should be no lower than the sovereign rating of the Russian Federation in the corresponding currency assigned by the related rating agency decreased by two notches.

If long-term credit rating of a credit institution was revoked due to the imposition by foreign states of restrictive measures, including a cooperation ban, against this credit institution, the respective rating assigned to the organisation as of 1 March 2014 is used to apply the Regulation.

This decision became effective from 16 February 2015.

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19.02.2015 00.00.00