LONDON: Credit rating firm Moody’s will formally shut its office in Russia’s capital Moscow at the end of the month, sources told Reuters, with staff either being cut or relocated elsewhere.
Western sanctions mean the main U.S and European-based rating agencies Moody’s, S&P Global and Fitch have all suspended their operations in Russia and withdrawn their ratings on both the country’s sovereign debt and companies.
Two sources with knowledge of Moody’s plans said it was now set to close its Moscow office on June 30, meaning it will no longer have presence in the country once tipped to be a lucrative growth market for ratings firms.
A spokesperson for Moody’s declined to comment on the office closing, but said the firm would “continue to provide research and commentary on the wider credit and economic impact caused by the invasion of Ukraine”.
It will come from other countries though. Both of the sources who spoke to Reuters said that some Moscow staff were relocating to places such as Dubai where Moody’s, like S&P and Fitch, has built a sizable office in recent years.
One of the sources added that staff unable to relocate would be paid until year-end.
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