MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The commercial PrivatBank and state-run Oschadbank are the largest banks in Ukraine in terms of assets, and take first and the second place respectively in the country's National Bank ranking.
“The downgrade of the long-term foreign currency IDRs reflects Fitch's view that defaults by the two banks on certain senior debt obligations (eurobonds) are now almost inevitable,” the agency said in a statement.
In late 2013, Russia bought Ukraine’s sovereign debt eurobonds worth about $3 billion. Ukraine is required to repay the full amount by the end of 2015. It paid a $75-million installment to the debt last month.
In answer to repeated inquiries Russia stressed it would not restructure the debt.
A year-long military conflict in eastern Ukraine, which begin when Kiev launched an operation against independence supporters, has resulted in an economic crisis, leaving Ukraine on the verge of a default, while the country's currency, the hryvnia, has dropped significantly since 2014.
