New Delhi, March 11 -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' and its outlook as 'Stable. '

Fitch has also upgraded the bank's Viability Rating (VR) to 'bb--' from 'b+' and affirmed the Government Support Rating (GSR) of 'B--'.

The rating agency said the upgrade of the state-owned lender PNB's viability rating by one notch to 'bb--' factors in ongoing improvements in PNB's risk profile, reflected in financial performance improvements that have surpassed Fitch's expectations and are likely to continue.

However, the rating agency said the risk profile remains a key consideration in our assessment of the bank's overall intrinsic credit profile, given its highly volatile past...