OREANDA-NEWS. National Rating Agency has lowered its credit rating on Archer Finance LLC's series 01 bonds (Reg. No. 4-01-36438-R, ISIN code: RU000A0JUJW8) to 'BBB+' and placed the rating on its Watchlist with indefinite implications. The bonds were assigned NRA's first-time credit rating of 'AA-' on Apr. 14, 2014. On Sep. 22, 2015, the rating was affirmed at the same level, and the rating outlook was revised to Negative.

The credit rating of Archer Finance LLC's series 01 bonds will be under scrutiny from the time of its Watchlist placement. A Watchlist placement does not mean that the rating has been suspended, but indicates that the Rating Agency may take a rating action on the bond issue in the near term.

The rating downgrade reflects NRA's decision to stop taking into account the support from one of the issuer's strategic partners, as the latter has failed to provide support to another issuer in respect of its bonds, although there had been non-public guarantees in place. The indefinite rating outlook reflects the significant increase of risks related to the issuer's investments, debt burden and growth strategy in the context of adverse market conditions at a time when no meaningful external support is available. Previously, NRA viewed the external support as a key factor mitigating the potential credit risks associated with the issue-related obligations.