Vienna Initiative an Insurance Policy, not a Game Changer, Fitch Says

More+Comment ♦ Published: March 15, 2012; 18:35 ♦ (Vindobona)

The principles adopted Tuesday in “Vienna Initiative 2.0” do not change Fitch’s base case expectation that central, eastern and south-eastern Europe (CESEE) will continue to see weak, or marginally negative, credit growth in the near-to-medium term.

Vienna Initiative an Insurance Policy, not a Game Changer, Fitch Says / Picture: © Fitch

The latest initiative does, however, reduce the risk of a more negative downside that would result from sharp regional deleveraging along with aggressive repatriation of parent bank funding and capital. It may also help to create a platform to promote banking sector stability in the region and, over time, gradually reduce system imbalances, the rating agency says.

“It has been…