International rating agency Fitch has assigned the upcoming senior unsecured notes announced by Romania’s second-biggest lender Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR; BBB+/Stable) a BBB+ expected long-term rating, with the final rating contingent on the receipt of final documents conforming to the information already received.

The notes are rated in line with BCR's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) because they will constitute direct, unsecured and senior obligations of the bank.

In turn, the IDR of BCR reflects support from its majority owner Erste Group Bank AG (Erste, A/Stable), and is capped at the level of the Country Ceiling, at two notches above Romania's BBB-/stable sovereign Long-Term IDR. Fitch says that it assumes the benefit of Erste’s support to apply to the notes in the same manner as it applies to BCR's IDR.

BCR, the local subsidiary of Austrian group Erste, announced that it plans to sell bonds denominated in local currency to qualified investors and list them on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The size of the bond issue is still to be announced.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/BCR)