On February 14 FITCH Ratings has affirmed and simultaneously withdrawn Russia-based JSC IC ALLIANZ's National Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) at 'AAA(rus)', Russia-based VSK Insurance Joint Stock Company's National IFS rating at 'A+(rus)', and AlfaStrakhovanie PLC (Russia)'s National IFS rating at 'AA-(rus)'. The Outlooks are Stable. 

The insurers' existing international ratings are unaffected. The affirmation of the National Ratings reflects limited changes since the last review. The National Ratings are being withdrawn because FITCH has withdrawn its Russian National Scale ratings in response to a new regulatory framework for credit rating agencies in Russia which imposed requirements that have resulted in Fitch Ratings' Russian National Scale Ratings unusable for regulatory purposes. Therefore, FITCH Ratings will withdraw approximately 150 public Russian National Scale Ratings by March 31, 2017.

FITCH will continue to issue International Scale Ratings for Russian issuers, as it has done over many years. FITCH has a long-standing presence in Russia, having established an office in Moscow in 2003, and remains committed to continuing to provide transparent and forward-looking credit opinions for investors active in the Russian market. FITCH continues to expand its coverage of Russian issuers of international debt, where it currently has a ratings portfolio of approximately 200 issuers.