Fitch Ratings upgrades Turkish banks' outlooks

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Credit ratings agency Fitch has upgraded the outlooks of 20 Turkish banks to stable from negative.

The move follows a similar upgrade of the outlook on Turkey's long-term issuer default ratings to stable from negative on Nov. 1, Fitch said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fitch also affirmed the ratings of those banks' financial subsidiaries driven by institutional support, while revising their outlooks to stable.

"The actions reflect reduced downside risks to the sovereign's ability to support banks, and the lower near-term likelihood of a sharp deterioration in Turkey's external finances, and therefore of government intervention in the banking system," it said.