The conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions potentially have implications for the financial sector far beyond the battle zone. This was stated by S&P Global Ratings, after in recent days it has taken negative rating actions on financial institutions in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, in the wake of the downgrade on sovereign countries and the deteriorated operating environment.
“Four European banking groups have sizeable exposures to Russia and Ukraine, but we expect all of them to demonstrate resilience,” the agency said in a report released today. Direct exposures of other banks in Europe, as well as globally, are limited.
“However – he continues – we remain aware of possible significant second-order effects of the conflict, which could in any case lead us to revise our basic assumptions on the operating environment, more obviously in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa, or Europe, Middle East and Africa) “.