Fitch affirms ratings of three Czech banks

London, Oct 5 (CTK) - Fitch Ratings has Friday affirmed ratings of the three Czech banks, namely Ceska sporitelna (CS), Komercni banka (KB) and Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka (CSOB), as well as outlooks on the banks.

The ratings agency affirmed CS's and KB's Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'A', and CSOB's IDR at 'BBB+'.

The outlook on CS and CSOB is stable and negative on KB.

The agency has also affirmed the banks' Viability Ratings (VRs) at 'bbb+'.

CS's Long-term IDR is equalised with that of its 98 percent shareholder, Erste Group Bank of Austria, reflecting Fitch's view that the Austrian bank would support its Czech unit if need be.

KB's Long-term IDR is driven by potential support from its majority shareholder, Societe Generale (SG) of France. Fitch classifies KB as a strategically important subsidiary and the largest and best performing subsidiary of SG in the region of Central and Eastern Europe.

CSOB's Long-term IDR is underpinned by potential support from its sole shareholder, KBC Bank of Belgium. Fitch classifies CSOB as a strategically important subsidiary for KBCB.

Each of the three banks could be upgraded if the parent bank ratings were upgraded. However, this is unlikely in the foreseeable future, according to the agency.