S&P says Azerbaijan among most vulnerable to currency depreciation

Key triggers for the sell-off have been concerns about the global economic outlook, expectations for an increase in U.S. interest rates, and a reversal

of capital flows from emerging capital markets to developed markets. Also playing into currency weakness are country-specific factors, such as political

uncertainty in Turkey and declining commodity prices impacting Russia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

"Our study of the banking systems in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa finds that the banking systems in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and

Nigeria are taking the hardest hits, and that's where the risks are the highest, followed by those in Russia, Georgia, and Turkey, where the risks are high," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Timucin Engin, in the report published today, "How Currency Depreciation In The EMEA Region Is Raising

Risks For Banks."

"We expect a relatively limited impact for the banking sectors in South Africa, Poland, Hungary, and Croatia," added Standard & Poor's credit analyst

Natalia Yalovskaya.