Standard & Poor's, the international rating agency, put Alfa-Bank’s ratings on CreditWatch list with Negative Rating Outlook, claiming this has to do with their general downgrading of the Russian banks’ asset quality estimates.

According to the agency’s research findings, the great loan losses might make the Russian banks undergo re-capitalization. Standard & Poor's analysts believe that over the next three years, the total volume of these banks’ toxic assets (including restructured loans) might reach 38% of the overall total volume recorded at the end of 2008.