Fitch affirms Moscow

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the City of Moscow's long-term foreign- and local-currency ratings at BBB and its short-term foreign-currency rating at F3 as well as the national long-term rating at AAA(rus).

The outlook is positive.

The affirmations follow the pre-term removal of Yuri Luzhkov from his post as the city's mayor by Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, according to the agency.

Fitch's said the change of Moscow's mayor will not significantly impact the budgetary and debt policy of the city in the short- and medium-terms.

Ratings reflect the city's robust local economy, strong operating margins, capital expenditure flexibility and strong debt coverage ratios, the agency said.

Ratings also consider the city's growing direct debt and temporary deterioration in budgetary performance in 2009 due to lower tax revenues caused by the slowdown of the national economy, the agency noted.

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