The international rating agency Moody’s demoted its forecast for the Russian banking system’s development from Stable to Negative, the agency reports.

‘Downgrading our forecast to Negative reflects our concerns that the global economic conditions and the financial markets’ volatility might weaken Russia’s operating environment and affect the banks through a general drop in liquidity, a slowdown in the lending activity, and a pressure on the assets quality,’ Moody’s says.

The Negative forecast means the agency expects these changes to occur over the next twelve to eighteen months.