Fitch affirms restricted default rating for Belarus
April 17, BPN. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Belarus’ Long-Term-Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “RD” (restricted default).
The rating “reflects the ongoing payment of US dollar Eurobond obligations in local currency,” with the most recent payment made in late February, Fitch noted. This practice violates bond conditions that prohibit settlement in alternative currencies, the agency added.
In late June 2022, the Belarusian government and the National Bank declared their intentions to service Belarus’ foreign debt in Belarusian rubels. The finance ministry reported the next day the first rubel payment of interest on the 2027 Eurobond denominated in US dollars.
In early July, Citibank, N.A. of London announced that it will stop servicing payments on Belarus’ Eurobonds amid Western sanctions.
Shortly after, rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded Belarus’ credit rating: the former said its default was inevitable, and the latter described the rubel payment as a default.
The Belarusian Ministry of Finance criticized those decisions and continues to pay debts in Belarusian currency.
Fitch, along with Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s, is one of the so-called “Big Three” international rating agencies.
- SocietyLithuania intercepts €400,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes on cargo trainThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyJob openings exceed 216,000 in JulyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsExiled folk-punk band branded extremist in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka emphasizes Slavic ties in message to Montenegrin peopleThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsEducation minister to head pro-Łukašenka associationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyMAZ bus sales in Russia plunge in H1 2025The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: rights groups report six trials in Biełaruski Hajun caseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUS think tank: Belarus, Russia want AI to promote “traditional values"The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Society
- EconomyOfficially-reported unemployment risesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition leader pays tribute to artist Aleś Puškin on death anniversaryThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyOver 1,400 electricians still working to restore power after windstormsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus’ envoy meets with UN secretary generalThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja arrives in Croatia to meet with prime ministerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsAt least six trials, 26 arrests in Biełaruski Hajun case - ViasnaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Economy